At 7:19 in the morning, the mayor of the PSOE in Almaraz, Juan Antonio Díaz, receives a WhatsApp message, already awake at that hour to finalize all the details because, precisely that day, the festivities in honor of their patron, San Roque, begin: “The extension of Almaraz is going to be published now in the BOE. Congratulations”. He has to read it twice. He did not expect it. Or at least not on such significant dates, during a holiday, with garlands and all the festive decorations freshly placed and new to adorn the colorful streets of the town (1,594 inhabitants). Not because it was desired, the councilor thought it would be announced with the start of the political season, in September. The tip-off from his interlocutor, a well-informed senior official, does not fail. There is no time for any leak now. Eleven minutes later, at exactly 7:30, as every day, the most powerful document in Spain is made public.
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The printing press seems to have received the order to print the historic text (No. 199, Sec. III. Page 114812) quietly, on August 14, the eve of the national holiday of the Assumption of the Virgin, with more than half of Spain celebrating and the other half in the middle of the exodus, with roads crowded with the year’s heaviest traffic. “It seems they wanted no one to find out”, suspect the worst-minded in a region, Campo Arañuelo, which has been on edge for the last two years of tense waiting.
“We have all fought as one” for the survival of more than four thousand jobs (direct and indirect), highlights Juan Antonio Díaz, spokesperson for the social platform ‘Almaraz yes’. “There have been no political differences, we have all gone hand in hand,” confirms the mayor of Tiétar, Laura González, from the PSOE. “Those of us living in small towns are on the street level, we cannot hide, and they [the neighbors] convey their concerns daily. I was convinced the resolution would be positive,” she assures.
The one who really breathes a sigh of relief is the mayor of Almaraz. The joy is evident in his eyes. He has suffered a lot. He has confronted the party, inside and outside the region, and has been, by far, the one who has raised the tone of his criticisms the most. “It is a shame that PSOE deputies vote against Almaraz,” he said in statements to EL MUNDO, last November.
Yesterday, however, he was “immensely happy.” If they did not pop “the champagne” in the morning, it was because the news had to be confirmed. They had to wait until late at night, already with the party in full swing and the bar counters on the street at full capacity. “Today is important, a lot has been fought for, but we must keep working for three years from now, this does not end today,” the mayor insisted on the street this Friday.
When the news began to spread early in the morning, there was activity in WhatsApp groups. “Too late,” writes a socialist, recalling that several councilors have resigned recently and even some mayors threatened to do so and not run as lead candidates in the next municipal elections in May 2027.
This was made known to the Prime Minister in February by 15 socialist mayors in a harsh letter: “We find it hard to understand the lack of clarity in the political approach of our party and this Government and the unjustified delay in the decision.” “We will see if there is time to recover,” commented another in the group. A dozen municipalities in the area receive 15 million euros annually from the plant in taxes. In many cases, this represents 60% of their total budgets. Almaraz leads the ranking of municipalities in Extremadura in terms of income (42,354 € annually per household). It barely has unemployment.
“Until the plant arrived, we did not know what a paved street was”
Some of the plant workers are off starting this Friday, taking advantage of the holiday, although the plant continues operating on Victory Day. Víctor Sánchez (45 years old), a native of Almaraz, works in plant control maintenance. His grandfather and father also worked at the plant. “We did not want to leave here and start a new life. It is a day to be very happy because until now we have not been able to plan our lives or make investments.”
A few meters away, Fernando Martín, retired, approaches the Zaida supermarket, opposite the Town Hall, as he does every day to do his shopping. He considers that “justice has been done” while recalling that “until the plant was installed, we did not know what a paved street was”. Shortly after, music begins in the Town Hall square. He gives another graphic example: “Almaraz does not know what they call Empty Spain; here there are good salaries, businesses work, there are many social scholarships, bilingual centers, and even a school with 300 children, let’s see where you find this elsewhere.”
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