«The PSOE has decided not to participate in these gatherings.» This was the directive that Ferraz conveyed to the socialist officials last Saturday, four days after the president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), María José García-Pelayo (PP), announced the call for demonstrations in support of Ceuta in front of all Spanish town halls this Wednesday. However, dozens of town halls led by the PSOE are expected to ignore Ferraz’s instruction throughout today and take to the streets, either under the umbrella of the FEMP’s call or, avoiding the veto issued by their party, gathering at alternative events but under the same slogan. Thus, there will be dozens of «free verses», adopting the term coined by the socialist spokesperson, Montse Mínguez.
Specifically, the count held by EL MUNDO already numbers more than 30 PSOE mayors who will demonstrate in support of Ceuta. They will do so spread across the entire Spanish geography, both in small towns and larger cities: the socialist mayors of León, José Antonio Diez, and Mérida, Antonio Rodríguez, will gather this Wednesday – although distancing themselves from the FEMP’s call. After all, they are the leaders of two of the most relevant capitals – provincial and community – that the PSOE controls.
«I don’t think this goes against anyone, but quite the opposite, it supports our national integrity, supports the people of Ceuta and the fulfillment of human rights,» reasons Diez in a phone conversation with EL MUNDO, adding that he will demonstrate today in the street «because not doing so would give a very partisan tone to a gathering that is clearly in defense of the people of Ceuta, which has no connotations or should not have political connotations beyond support for the people of Ceuta.» «Not being there, I honestly don’t understand it,» he expresses, responding to the label of «free verse» that Ferraz throws at those who, like him, will break the instruction not to support these gatherings: «If being a free verse is being with your citizens, defending the interests of your citizens and putting their interests before your own, which can obviously be affected because your political party doesn’t like it, then I am a free verse.»
That said, Diez agrees in censuring, as they do in Ferraz, the way the FEMP proceeded in calling these gatherings. «They have done something that, in my opinion, should not be done, which is the partisan use of an institution that represents all the municipalities of Spain without the proper consensus.» For this reason, the mayor of León says he will demonstrate by joining «a gathering called by civil society», and not in response to the FEMP’s call. This criticism of the organization representing Spanish municipalities is also shared by one of the mayors least aligned with Ferraz, the mayor of Palencia, Miriam Andrés, who on this basis ruled out joining the demonstrations. Meanwhile, the Mérida City Council led by Rodríguez will gather at noon, thus distancing itself from the general FEMP call, announced for 8:00 p.m.
The same will happen in Gandía and Sagunto, both with socialist mayors, José Manuel Prieto and Darío Moreno. The case of Gandía is striking, as this municipality was where the minister and leader of the Valencian socialists, Diana Morant, began her political career. Prieto is one of the leaders closest to her but has said that «in difficult and exceptional situations like those Ceuta is experiencing», parties can and should be «above partisanship».
The mayors of Novelda (Alicante), Fran Martín; Moguer (Huelva), Gustavo Cuéllar; Chiclana (Cádiz), José María Román, and Vejer de la Frontera (Cádiz), Antonio González, who believe that «one must be there» at today’s solidarity events with Ceuta, will indeed take to the streets at 8:00 p.m. «I understand the leadership’s position asking us not to attend, but I do not share it,» González tells EL MUNDO, because «common sense comes first.» He also agrees that the initiative of the FEMP president is an attempt by the PP to «instrumentalize» the Ceuta crisis. But precisely because of that, he maintains that the right decision is to attend the gatherings to neutralize that attempt. «What the PP wanted was for us not to attend, and for that reason, we should all go,» González points out, openly contradicting Ferraz’s stance. However, he acknowledges that the government’s management is «improvable.» «Everything possible is being done, but that reality does not reach the citizen, and that worries me,» he states.
González denies having received pressure or «calls» from Ferraz’s leadership and highlights that «fortunately, the PSOE is not a dogmatic party,» while rejecting that there can be talk of «internal rebellion.» It is a matter, he reiterates, of «common sense and responsibility.» The mayor of Adamuz (Córdoba), Rafael Moreno, also avoids controversies and does not want to even evaluate Ferraz’s directives, which he denies having contradicted: «The PSOE is a plural party, with many viewpoints.»
The mayor of Castellar (Cádiz), Adrián Vaca, has a similar opinion, although in his case he has preferred to avoid direct confrontation with his leadership’s orders and it is not the town hall that calls. «The PP and Vox are trying to stir up and generate conflict» with the calls, Vaca opines, but «that does not mean we should not show our respect and support to the people of Ceuta.» The gathering in Villafranca de Córdoba will also be held at 8:00 p.m., whose mayor, Francisco Palomares, sees it as a demonstration of support for a people «in a complicated situation» and to ask that the solution to the problem arrives «as soon and as well as possible.»
Nevertheless, the central government showed yesterday its «maximum respect» for the holding of gatherings and asked that they take place «without violence», because «it is the only thing that leads nowhere.» However, the spokesperson minister, Elma Saiz, stated that «it is evident» that the PP «instrumentalizes institutions», as she claimed it «did with the Senate and is doing with the FEMP.»
The PSOE is, in any case, waiting to see how many of its town halls end up joining the calls. In Castilla-La Mancha, where socialist Emiliano García-Page governs with an absolute majority, some town halls have also announced initiatives in support of Ceuta apart from the FEMP’s. According to the PSOE’s regional Organization Secretary, Sergio Gutiérrez, the PP «has wanted to use citizen solidarity in a twisted and partisan way», so the party’s mayors will demonstrate «according to what they consider fits the reality of their municipalities.»
And in Aragón, internal PSOE sources tell EL MUNDO that there will be several mayors and councilors present at the events organized to show their support for the Ceuta population. These local leaders prefer not to reveal their identity and, in fact, many of them will be present in localities where they do not serve as officials, to, they assure, «go unnoticed and avoid being sanctioned.»
* With information from Marta Belver, Juanma Lamet, Noa de la Torre, David Vigario and Ismael Poveda.
