For the first time in its history, the Orihuela City Council’s November plenary session will be held at the municipal headquarters on the coast. Residents, community groups, and the Orihuela Costa Independence Party (PIOC) have been criticising this move for a long time. They want the same amount of attention and investment in the city centre and the beaches in the municipality.
These neighbours are the ones who have asked for a protest to be held at the entrance to the Orihuela Costa Town Hall next Thursday, November 27th, at 9:15 a.m. , the start of the last plenary session of the year. According to PIOC, a lot of people showed up to their appeal to speak out against “the neglect, inequality, and lack of institutional respect suffered by Orihuela Costa” because the locals were tired.
Same taxes, same services
Among their demands, the residents stress the following points:
- “We contribute more than 60 million euros a year , but we receive less than 30 million in services and investments .”
- “While in Orihuela city in just two years more than 15 million have been invested in more than 12 museums, cultural centers, 2 philharmonic orchestras, 1 conservatory, a dance school and more than 100 cultural activities a year, purchase and rehabilitation of buildings, subsidies, festivals, etc. in Orihuela Costa, with the same population, nothing has been invested in nor do we have anything that they enjoy in Orihuela city .”
- “We pay one of the highest garbage taxes in Spain, but the cleaning service is clearly inadequate . More than 1,000 residents have requested a reduction in writing, and the city council has not responded to anyone, despite its legal obligation.”
People who live on the coast say they feel undervalued by institutions: “The residents of the Orihuela Costa still rely on a town hall that is 35 km away, which treats us badly and thinks we are residents without rights.” “We want the same services if we pay the same taxes.”
They say they will be collecting signatures during the demonstration for all of these reasons: “We will ask Europe to protect us from the City Council and not give Orihuela any more money until it lowers the garbage tax and treats the people of Orihuela Costa with respect and fairness.” They say, “It’s time to speak up, claim our rights, and ask for fair treatment.”
No agreement among institutions to speak out against violence against women
The municipal groups have put forward six motions for the November plenary session. Two of them are about the 25N (PSOE and Cambiemos), one is about asking for early elections in the Valencian Community (PSOE), one is about improving public transport in Orihuela Costa (Cambiemos), one is about reviewing a municipal ordinance that regulates the naming of public spaces and roads (Ciudadanos), and one is about asking for compliance with the citizen participation regulations (Ciudadanos).
Even though there was no institutional motion on November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which the City Council has always used to call for an end to this problem, all of this happened. In the past, there were no institutional arrangements that would have let all political factions make a joint motion, but the ruling team always made sure to include this topic on its agenda.
This year, though, it’s strange that the PP and Vox coalition partners didn’t say anything about this topic at the November plenary session. The PSOE and Cambiemos were the only two municipal groups to bring it up for discussion. The question today is whether the governing coalition partners stayed quiet on the issue this year because of the different views on gender violence that the opposition parties and Vox have.
The People’s Party downplayed the issue when asked about it by this magazine, saying that neither the opposition nor the governing team had filed a combined motion or agreed to take any action: “They have already submitted their own.” There is no need for anything else. They say they will be collecting signatures during the demonstration for all of these reasons: “We will ask Europe to protect us from the City Council and not give Orihuela any more money until it lowers the garbage tax and treats the people of Orihuela Costa with respect and fairness.” They say, “It’s time to speak up, claim our rights, and ask for fair treatment.”
The People’s Party downplayed the issue when asked about it by this magazine, saying that neither the opposition nor the governing team had filed a combined motion or agreed to take any action: “They have already submitted their own.” There is no need for anything else.
Author: Derek Appleton
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