The Socialist Municipal Group has submitted a request for the City Council to convene an Extraordinary Plenary on the State of the City, which has not been held since January 2025. Spokesperson Mariano Ruiz Araujo calls for a debate on the city model in light of issues such as housing and commerce.
The Socialist Municipal Group of the Málaga City Council formally registered a request this Wednesday for an Extraordinary Plenary on the State of the City to be convened. The municipal regulations state that this debate must be held at least once a year, but the last edition dates back to January 2025, meaning the deadline has been significantly exceeded.
Socialist spokesperson, Mariano Ruiz Araujo, has argued that the city needs a deep reflection on its future, beyond the announcements from the governing team. In his view, Málaga has been stuck in a dynamic of "big headlines" and projects that, in many cases, "are stillborn" or fail to materialise, while avoiding a comprehensive debate on the city model.
A plenary to account for actions
The PSOE's request aims for the mayor, Francisco de la Torre, to appear to review his management and for political groups to analyse the situation of the capital. Ruiz Araujo has insisted that the responsibility of a municipal government is not only to manage day-to-day affairs but also to define a roadmap and account for its compliance.
"The time has come to sit down and discuss the Málaga we want for the next ten or fifteen years," the socialist spokesperson stated. For the PSOE, the reality of the city necessitates opening this debate, with issues such as the difficulty for young people to become independent, the rising cost of housing, the closure of small businesses, or the loss of identity of certain neighbourhoods and streets in the centre.
From discourse to action
The socialists believe that the governing team has begun to adopt some of the proposals that the opposition has been advocating, such as the protection of residential land or the need to move towards a more balanced city. Ruiz Araujo has valued this change in discourse, although he has warned that "it now needs to be translated into action" and not remain merely statements.
The spokesperson has insisted that the debate is not intended to become a political reckoning. "We are not looking for culprits nor do we want to look to the past," he explained, but rather to use the session to confront city models and establish priorities in the face of challenges such as access to housing, urban transformation, or the protection of commerce and local identity.
For the residents of Málaga, this plenary represents an opportunity to learn firsthand about the priorities of the municipal government and the opposition. The lack of this debate for over a year has generated criticism among citizens, who see how everyday problems—such as housing prices or tourist overcrowding—are not being addressed with the necessary depth.
Fifteen-day deadline
According to municipal regulations, the City Council has a period of fifteen days to convene the extraordinary plenary once the request has been registered. If it does not do so, the PSOE could escalate the request to the Junta de Andalucía or resort to legal action to ensure its holding.
The last edition of the debate on the State of the City, in January 2025, was marked by the announcement of major projects such as the expansion of the port or the construction of new public housing developments. However, since then, the opposition has denounced that many of these initiatives have not progressed or have remained on paper.
Málaga faces challenges such as the rising cost of rent, which has increased by 15% in the last year, or the loss of young population, who are forced to seek housing in municipalities in the metropolitan area. The debate on the State of the City could serve to bring concrete solutions to the table, beyond the headlines.
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