Yesterday, the plenary session of the Lugo City Council adopted a motion presented by the Popular Party to disapprove the interim president of the Provincial Council and Mayor of Monforte, José Tomé, for the accusations of sexual harassment against him, despite the restraint he has … The socialists tried to say it. The initiative took place with votes in favor of the PP and the BNG, with the PSOE – the party of which the councilor was part until his recent departure – voting against, considering that it was a proposal “clearly partial and oriented towards partisan interests”.
During the session, the popular were at the forefront of the challenge, who did not spare their reproaches to the socialists and nationalists for having allowed, according to them, Tomé to continue to “cling to his positions”. The PP described the situation as unprecedented in the province and defended that it requires “clear explanations, transparency and a firm institutional response.” Popular advisers insisted that keeping a person accused of alleged sexual harassment in public responsibilities represents a renunciation of the principles that the PSOE and the BNG say they repeatedly defend in other areas.
The PP group once again expressed its support and solidarity with the complainants and demanded that the facts be investigated “until the last consequences”, both at the judicial and political level. He warned that any attempt to minimize or cover up these types of situations sends a negative message in the fight against gender-based violence and erodes citizens’ trust in institutions. In the same vein, the people wondered what perception socialist women might have seeing that a person accused of several cases of alleged sexual harassment continues to exercise their functions, and they asked the BNG to decide “if it continues to support this situation or if it decides to position itself on the side of the victims”.
On the other hand, and despite his vote in favor of disapproval, the municipal spokesperson of the BNG, Rubén Arroxo, accused the Popular Party of acting for partisan purposes. Before starting the session, Arroxo declared that “the PP does not care about the victims” and that its only objective is “to obtain the government of the Provincial Council.” As an example, he cited the case of the former president of the Orense Provincial Delegation, José Manuel Baltar, “accused of very serious facts, even with recordings”, who, according to him, was then “entrusted” to a position in the Senate. A contrast, for the nationalist spokesperson, which shows an “absolute hypocrisy” exercised by the popular people. Arroxo explained that the BNG presented an amendment to the motion with the aim of “clarifying the debate” and avoiding self-serving use of the case. Despite everything, the Bloc ultimately supported the PP’s initiative.
An “interested selection”
Finally, the Socialist Municipal Group justified its vote against by arguing that the motion was “clearly partial” and “oriented towards partisan interests”. According to the PSOE, the popular proposal did not propose a general condemnation, without exceptions, of all sexual harassment behavior and its cover-up, but rather focused on specific cases “self-servingly selected” and excluded others for reasons of political convenience.
Reason enough for the socialists to also present an amendment; where appropriate, extend institutional disapproval to all sexually harassing behavior and to all public officials who commit or cover it up, regardless of political affiliation. But their attempt hit a wall – the majority of votes from the PP and BNG – and, as a result, the PSOE simply did not support the motion.
Beyond this point, the Plenary Council also approved the regulatory order for the Low Emissions Zone, with a view to the upcoming installation of license plate reading cameras at the entrances to the historic center. And the popular also managed to come to an agreement again with the mayor of Lugo, Miguel Fernández, to recover the agreement signed in 2022 between the City Hall and the Xunta to make the Museum of Romanization a reality.
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