Josele González is standing as the PSOE candidate for mayor with the experience of having been mayor for the last four years.

Mijas Weekly. You have been mayor in this mandate and councillor of the government team in the previous one.

Josele González. In the first four years there were a lot of changes which meant that they were practically not productive. Quite the opposite of what we have had this mandate, where there has been stability, confidence and two parties that have delivered. We will arrive at 28M with a pact that gives stability to the city. 

M.W. The pandemic must have made you mature as a politician and manager. 

J.G. Yes, and also very quickly. In the end, Mijas was at the forefront of measures, from finding masks and hydroalcoholic gels to hand out to neighbours, to helping the unemployed. The Town Hall was there, reactivating the social services. With the OREA Plan we were able to make almost 12 million euros in aid available to 3,500 family businesses and the self-employed, which was later complemented by the Cometha Plan. 

M.W. What other important achievements do you highlight from these four years? 

J.G. The main one is that we have zero debt. In addition, Mijas is the Andalusian municipality where the least taxes are paid and the fifth in Spain. Another achievement is that we have the lowest unemployment rate in the last 16 years and we are the fourth town in Malaga with the lowest unemployment rate. This is thanks to public and private collaboration and employment plans. 

M.W. On the other hand, do you have any “thorns in your side” from these past four years? 

J.G. My biggest thorn is the extension of the Ciudad Deportiva Regino Hernández, which has been at a standstill for more than two years. We had to fight in court with the bidding company, but we have resolved that situation and the work has been resumed.

M.W. You are once again relying on colleagues who have been councillors with you for these elections.

J.G. Yes, we have formed a very consolidated team with councillors who have demonstrated their ability over the years.  

M.W. Your campaign slogan is ‘Mijas advances. Let’s make it happen’.

J.G. When I took office I said that Mijas needed to move forward and I believe we have achieved this. What Mijas needs now is stability, a long term project to move forward.

M.W. In your programme there are measures that stand out such as 500 VPO.

J.G. We have several plots ready in La Cala and Las Lagunas. In Mijas Pueblo we have several locations, but we have to reach agreements with landlords. The Town Hall has a rental aid programme, with more than half a million euros. We intend to continue expanding and complementing it with VPOs. 

M.W. Let’s talk about car parks. 

J.G. In these four years we have promoted a parking plan with 700 parking spaces in El Juncal and La Candelaria. We are already well advanced with the project in Los Santos, where there will be 400 spaces. Our commitment is to create 2,500 new parking spaces over the next eight years. One in front of the Indira Gandhi school and another in the square of the old SuperSol in La Cala. In Mijas Pueblo the big challenge is to extend the car park. The Junta, after eight years of fighting, has said no on one side, so now we are going to try to make an extension towards the Plaza Virgen de la Peña. I wish that when the PP remodelled it they had remembered to build the car parks underneath it. 

M.W. The years go by and there are issues that are always talked about such as the hospital, the residence, schools...

J.G. They depend on the Junta. We urgently need to extend the Jardín Botánico school; a school and a secondary school in La Cala; that the work on the new secondary school in Las Lagunas picks up pace. On health, we need several things. We have offered the Junta the land for the hospital and the possibility of financing it, what we need is their authorisation. It also depends on the Junta for the nursing home. We have ceded the land, we are drawing up the project and all we ask is that they let us build it.

M.W. In terms of sport, they propose, among other things, the recovery of the racecourse. 

J.G. The sports city of the old racecourse is going to be something innovative. After 12 years of judicial struggle, we have the opportunity to generate this great space and we have to complement it with the swimming pool that is already being built in La Cala. 

M.W. What does the PSOE propose in areas such as culture or youth? 

J.G. Where the Peña El Gallo is, we want to build a large civic centre, oriented towards youth and collectives, we will create a large Casa de la Cultura in Las Lagunas, where the existing one is, with a large car park underneath and a second Town Hall in Las Lagunas and another one in the old abattoir in Mijas Pueblo. 

M.W. Any other projects? 

J.G. I want to talk about the project for the Sierra de Mijas-Alpujata Natural Park. We have to make it a Natural Park for more protection. Another commitment is that we are going to plant 10,000 trees and bushes in urban areas. As proof, I commit to place a public meter in a municipal building. 

M.W. You did not mention the Great Park in the interview. 

J.G. Because it is a project that is underway. The Grand Park is going to be one of the great milestones of the management of these four years and it is going to be the great green lung of the Costa del Sol. 

M.W. In terms of infrastructure, many streets have been remodelled.

J.G. In these four years we have remodelled over 100 streets. We have generated the capacity to solve historic mobility problems, as has been done with the Miguel Hernández connection. We will have to continue moving forward with other actions such as the widening of Camino de Coín.

M.W. Would you repeat the PSOE-Cs pact? 

J.G. I would repeat with those parties with whom we agree and with honest people. For example, it would be difficult for me to reach an agreement with the PP. With VOX it would be difficult to coincide in the project. 

M.W. In Mijas there are ten parties running and the option of a pact is more than possible. 

J.G. Only 3 of the 10 parties running have experience governing. Most of them don’t. I would ask the citizens to cast a useful vote, in order to obtain the largest possible majority that will allow me to govern alone.

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