PPs Ana Mata was sworn in as the new mayoress of Mijas at 13:28 hours this Thursday, 2nd of November, being the first woman to become mayor of Mijas. She received the baton at 13:30 hours. She has done so following the success of the no-confidence motion presented by the Partido Popular with the support of Vox and Juan Carlos Maldonado, still councillor for Por Mi Pueblo at the time.
The plenary session began a few minutes after midday in the Plenary Hall of the Mijas Town Hall, which was completely full, as was the Patio de las Fuentes, a room set up for the large number of people expected due to the great expectation generated by this historic moment for the municipality, as it is the first time in the history of Mijas that there has been a change in the Mayor's office due to a no-confidence motion. Among the many people who attended the event was a wide representation of the parties at provincial level as well as politicians linked to the municipalities of Mijas and Fuengirola such as the former socialist mayors of Mijas Antonio Sánchez and Antonio Maldonado, the former Popular mayor Ángel Nozal, who headed the PP list in the last municipal elections, but resigned his seat as councillor before the constituent plenary session on June 17th, as well as the current mayoress of Fuengirola, Ana Mula (PP), and the former mayor of the neighbouring town, Esperanza Oña (PP).
Development of the plenary session
The plenary session on the no-confidence motion took place as planned, in accordance with article 197 of the LOREG (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General). The plenary session was presided over by the oldest councillor, Mario Bravo (PP), and the youngest, Eloy Belmonte (Vox), of those present, excluding the mayor and the candidate for mayor, and with the presence of the municipal secretary, José Manuel Páez. The board limited itself to reading out the no-confidence motion.
He then gave the floor to the candidate for mayor, Ana Mata (PP), who began her speech by stressing that "today I stand in this plenary session together with 12 fellow councillors to defend a necessary change of direction in the Town Hall". In this regard she explained that the no-confidence motion is "a legitimate tool backed by a social majority", and in this context she recalled that "PP, Vox and Maldonado got the support at the polls of 8,418 Mijeños, which is more than the votes obtained by the two groups that are in the current government". Mata went on to emphasise that "the people of Mijas will be represented by the new government, which will be more sensitive to their needs" and said that her aim is for "Mijas to be one of the most important towns in Malaga and Andalusia". "I aspire for us to leave behind resignation" she said and added that "we have to leave behind obscurantism, opacity and the partisan use of public administrations, something that has marked recent times". She accused Josele González of having been more concerned about "what was happening in his party than what happened in Mijas".
Mata continued her speech by reminding that "the Mijas Town Hall and the municipal resources belong to all the people of Mijas. They do not belong to any party". Likewise, Mata promised to "govern for all the people of Mijas, to recover the dialogue with the rest of the institutions, neighbouring Town Halls, the Association of Municipalities, the Provincial Council, the Regional Government and the Central Government" and predicted that "this change that we defend today will mean opening a new stage of collaboration to improve our municipality". She also said that she "will be firm and forceful when it comes to demanding the pending projects and requesting the resources that Mijas needs" from other administrations.
In her speech, she also indicated the need to finish projects such as the Coastal Path or the integral sanitation and said that one of the first documents she will sign as mayoress "will be to ask the comptroller to draw up a report on all outstanding invoices and the causes" and the secretary to do the same with "services without contracts". In addition, she said she will "put in place plans and initiatives to improve services and facilities in areas such as sport, cleanliness and security". "Mijas has a bright future ahead of it, one of progress and economic, social and cultural development", she said.
Main projects of the new government
In her speech, Mata listed what she said will be the main projects of the new government, among which she named the public residence for the elderly with places to be provided by the Junta de Andalucía; the extension of the Mijas Pueblo car park; the recovery of the racecourse and the CIOMijas and the improvement of municipal roads.
The Partido Popular representative also addressed Josele González: "My office is open, I invite you to engage in loyal and constructive opposition, an invitation which I extend to the councillors of Ciudadanos", and went on to say that "we will work hard to achieve the best for the people of Mijas".
To conclude, Mata insisted that "as the first mayoress in the history of this town I will promote equality, that women and men have the same rights" and promised that "the only colours we will defend will be the colours of Mijas".
Josele González, outgoing mayor
The Partido Popular candidate was followed by the words of the outgoing mayor, the socialist Josele González, who was greeted on his arrival at the Plenary Hall with a standing ovation. "Today, this Town Hall, like every day that I arrived at the mayor's office, should be working at full capacity, but no, we are debating a no-confidence motion that has been promoted by the PP of Málaga, the Vox representatives and Maldonado". González argued that the motion "has no real causes except those that you invent yourselves. In addition to the lust for power, the other reason behind this no-confidence motion is that they don't want Mijas to prosper," he said. According to González, "it is only based on selfishness, egocentrism and the sharing out of posts". In this regard, he assured that this motion is part of "a bigger plan, to remove a group of councillors from Mijas and place others so that they pay obeisance to their provincial groups". The socialist congratulated Ana Mata because she will be the first woman to govern Mijas, "but you will also be the first to reach the mayor's office through a no-confidence motion, and the first to support a defector, and to include Vox and the ultra-right in a municipal government in the whole province of Málaga". He also reminded her that "she will be the first female mayor of Mijas being number 6 on the list and without campaigning she bypasses all her colleagues to be mayor".
González acknowledged that "today is a bitter pill to swallow, it is not easy to assume that being the most voted list we have to take a step back, sometimes winning with a majority is not winning" and, of course, he had words for those who helped him to govern, his party colleagues and also for his partners in government of Ciudadanos, the councillors Mariló Olmedo and José Carlos Martín, whom he referred to as "a politician of his word", with whom "I have worked for Mijas together". González took the opportunity to recall the improvement in recent years in projects such as Basic Income or the reduction in the number of unemployed in recent years. He also stressed that Mijas "is the third town in the region in terms of the number of self-employed and entrepreneurs" and highlighted the fact that his government "has managed to ensure that Mijas has healthy accounts". He also assured that "Mijas is a safe municipality, we have provided it with more and better tools for the Mijas Police and we have increased the number of firefighters and we have put out to tender the construction of the Fire Station". González also highlighted the increase in parking spaces with the creation of two new municipal car parks. Also, addressing Mata, Gonzalez stressed that he leaves her the Public Sports Agency created, the Hippodrome received, the works of the swimming pool of La Cala finished and the works of the Gran Parque Costa del Sol started, among other projects. In addition, Gonzalez highlighted the policies that were put in place by the Town Hall during the pandemic, highlighting the OREA and Cometha plans, "an oxygen balloon for Mijas families", he said.
"The residents of Mijas are the real wealth of Mijas," said González who went on to say that "we will make a constructive opposition and institutional loyalty, but make no mistake, we will not let the voice of Mijas be extinguished". "My colleagues and I will continue to fight for our town, regardless of whoever it may concern, all these years we have not stopped putting our heart, enthusiasm, sacrifice, training and experience at the service of Mijas", he said. "I will continue to work for Mijas, always for Mijas, all for Mijas" and acknowledged that "being the mayor of the town where I was born is the greatest honour of my life". González concluded by reaffirming that he will stand for election in 2027. At the end of his speech, the mayor of Mijas received a standing ovation and a large part of the audience in the plenary hall rose to their feet.
Juan Carlos Maldonado, non-attached councillor
After the mayor, the non-attached councillor, Juan Carlos Maldonado, took the floor and explained his reasons for supporting the no-confidence motion, recalling that in the September plenary session, still as a councillor for Por Mi Pueblo, he voted against the Amnesty Law in Spain. "For a logical reason, for pure political mathematics, it would have been much easier for me to stay where I was, but we politicians have to look for the best options to fulfil our electoral programme", he said. In his speech, Maldonado argued that he supports Ana Mata because he is "convinced that she will take Mijas where it should be".
José Carlos Martín, spokesperson for Ciudadanos
For his part, the spokesman of the municipal group Ciudadanos in Mijas Town Hall, José Carlos Martín, said that "today is a sad day for my group, as we have spent eight years working for Mijas, where we have dedicated body and soul to our neighbours, looking for the best for the people of Mijas". The spokesman said he was "truly proud of the honour of serving the people of Mijas" and said he "leaves with his head held high". He also had words of thanks for his party colleagues, municipal workers, government partners, their families and finally to all the neighbours.
José Carlos Martín called on the entire corporation to "dignify politics, and to seek the general interest and not the personal interest", assuring that "motions like this do not help", as "this distances politics from the residents", and urged to "change the electoral law so that a minority does not decide over the majority". Finally, Martín congratulated the new mayoress and expressed "his willingness to collaborate in everything that benefits the town".
Juan Carlos Cuevas, vice-spokesperson for Vox
The next to speak was the second deputy spokesperson for Vox, Juan Carlos Cuevas. He started by emotionally thanking his colleagues in the motion for providing "an alternative for Mijas". "Today is a historic day for Vox, as Mijas is the first municipality with a large population where this party will be represented in the government team". Excited, and unable to continue with the speech, he gave the floor to the spokesman of the group, Francisco Jerez, who continued the speech to ensure that in the case of the residence for the elderly "we have the obligation to demand it from the Junta de Andalucía". He also affirmed that in this way they are fulfilling their electoral commitment "to kick the left out of government, whenever it is in our power to do so. Thank you for trusting us, there are few places as wonderful to live as Mijas. Long live Mijas and long live Spain", concluded Jerez.
Mario Bravo, spokesman for the Partido Popular
Mario Bravo, as spokesman for the PP, thanked "all those who have made this no-confidence motion possible", referring to the citizens who voted for PP, Vox and Por Mi Pueblo. Bravo went on to list a decalogue of reasons why the Popular Party claims that this motion is justified, pointing out, among other causes, "the lack of municipal budgets, the delays in payments to suppliers or the lack of protection of municipal assets". The popular spokesman concluded by pointing out that "being mayor of a municipality is the greatest honour one can have, I believe that any of the 25 councillors would be proud to be mayor of a municipality like Mijas". This no-confidence motion, he continued, "does not start today, it starts the day you [referring to Josele González] asked for exclusive dedication in the Provincial Council, leaving Mijas aside, we are going to let you enjoy that exclusive dedication. May you be very happy there", Bravo finished.
Roy Pérez, spokesman for the PSOE
The PSOE spokesman, Roy Pérez, in his speech addressed the mayoress Ana Mata: "You don't know the needs of Mijas, you don't know our municipality, and nobody knows you here, beyond the 17 years that you have been a councillor in Fuengirola. For the first time in 44 years of history we are going to see how a person becomes mayor through a motion, the motion of shame and added that "it is a motion that puts the Popular Party with its partisan interests above the general interests" and pointed out that "what is happening is an assault on this Town Hall, an assault with a chequebook, there are people who have a price and wear jackets of all colours and if they have a price there is always someone willing to buy". "We, with Josele González, will continue to work for Mijas, you know that we will not disappoint you, we will be watching your management with a magnifying glass, Mrs. Mata, at the head of the Town Hall". Finally, he addressed González, "Mr. mayor, you can be very proud of your management of Mijas. Today you can leave here with your head held high, you have been a great mayor" and to the partners in government, Olmedo and Martín, "it has been an honour to work with you and the only thing I am going to ask of you is that you vote conscientiously, because otherwise I don't know how you will be able to sleep at night".
Voting
After the speeches of the representatives, the vote was taken on the motion of censure, which went ahead with 13 votes in favour (PP, Vox and the non-attached councillor Juan Carlos Maldonado), 10 votes in favour (PSOE) and the abstentions of the two Ciudadanos councillors.
First words
Ana Mata's first words as mayoress of Mijas were: "Thanks to my mother for educating me in equality and respect. To my sister, for all the road she has travelled with me. To my husband, who always tries to accompany me and also to all the family members who have been part of my political career. I would like to thank Ángel, my colleagues, my teachers Esperanza and Ana Mula, my colleagues in the Provincial Council, who I have learned with them that the province of Málaga has a lot to discover".
The Mijas mayor has addressed the Mijeños to tell them that "this 'parachutist' in Mijas learned to ride a bike in El Coto, studied at school in El Coto, was lucky enough to study at the Sierra Mijas high school and my friends are from Mijas" and acknowledged that "I have had my heart broken, I think like many Mijeños too, with Fuengirola, because we wanted to have many opportunities that Fuengirola has had and Mijas has not been able to have". Mata concluded by stating that "I am going to give my all, because it is my challenge, it is my town, Mijas".
After the numerous congratulations, the mayoress went to the hermitage of El Compás to offer her respect and recognition to the patron saint and perpetual mayoress of Mijas, the Virgen de la Peña.
Ana Mata Rico
The new mayoress of Mijas, Ana Carmen Mata Rico, was born in Málaga in 1973. After studying secondary school at the IES Sierra Mijas, she graduated in Law at the UMA and has a diploma in Mediation and Conflict Management from the Loyola University of Andalusia and in Social Institutions and Senior Business Management.
The last position she has held is that of spokesperson for the PP in the Provincial Council of Malaga, an institution of which she was vice-president between 2011 and 2019. Mata began her political activity in 2003 as a councillor in the Fuengirola Town Hall, where she stayed until 2019, the year in which she was appointed Secretary General for Families of the Ministry for Health and Families of the Andalusian Regional Government, a position she held until the last municipal elections on the 28th of May, when she joined the PP lists, headed by Ángel Nozal, as number six, for the Mijas Town Hall.
No-confidence motion
The no-confidence motion was registered on October 18th, 123 days after socialist Josele González was sworn in as mayor of Mijas on June 17th with the 10 votes of the PSOE, the two votes of Cs and Juan Carlos Maldonado's vote, currently a non-attached councillor, who stood for the Por Mi Pueblo party in the elections. It was in the ordinary plenary session in October, held on the 25th, in which the corporation took note of Maldonado's status as a non-attached councillor.
After the no-confidence motion in Mijas and the arrival of the Partido Popular to the Mijas mayor's office, 89% of the province's population now has a PP mayor, a party that will govern in 14 of the 16 municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants in the province. The PSOE is left alone with Cártama, while in Alhaurín el Grande it governs in coalition (100% Alhaurín, IU con Alhaurín and PSOE) with two other parties but does not hold the mayor's office.
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