The extraordinary plenary session this Thursday at the Málaga City Council, requested by the PSOE, served for the opposition to criticise the city model and the management of the mayor, Francisco de la Torre, regarding housing and other services.
The socialist spokesperson, Mariano Ruiz Araujo, has attacked the government team for believing that the mayor, Francisco de la Torre, avoids accountability regarding the direction of the city. “He has preferred not to account for his management or future model,” he pointed out during the plenary, held just after another extraordinary session in which the limitation of tourist flats was approved.
Criticism of the city model
Ruiz Araujo acknowledged that Málaga “has done important things” in the last decade, but insisted that “being a showcase has never been an end in itself.” “The time has come to stop talking about what Málaga shows and start to talk about what Málaga lives,” he stated, focusing on the housing problem.
The socialist described the government team's response to the housing crisis as “tepid, insufficient, erratic, late and deeply tactical.” “You cannot solve new problems with old solutions; housing requires courage, creativity and broad-mindedness,” he elaborated.
Additionally, he linked the problems of cleanliness, mobility and “abandonment” of neighbourhoods to a common origin: a city model that, in his opinion, “has ceased to respond to the needs of the people of Málaga.” “There are images that perfectly summarise the exhausted model that you represent, mayor,” he criticised.
Response from the mayor and the government team
The mayor, Francisco de la Torre, took the floor to defend his management and assured that housing is the issue he dedicates the most time to. However, he pointed out that the main obstacle is the lack of electrical power: “Either we resolve the electrical power issue or we will not advance.”
De la Torre reminded that the State of the City Debate is scheduled for 30 September, and accused Ruiz Araujo of making “an attempt at a mini-debate” with this extraordinary plenary. “Let’s talk about whether we want to debate or not, but let’s not enter into the State of the City Debate because it is incongruous,” he said, describing the PSOE's attitude as “absolute theatricality.”
The spokesperson for the government team, Elisa Pérez de Siles, defended the “successful projects” of the mandate and assured that the State of the City Debate will discuss “the profound transformation that the city has undergone.” She labelled the plenary as “fake” because the mayor had already called for the debate in September.
The plenary has been a reflection of the political tension between both parties, with mutual reproaches regarding the management and future of the Málaga capital.
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