The PSOE maintains all those accused of harassment as mayors

In the aforementioned localities, the PSOE currently governs with a small majority, so that for keep powerthey need the support of all councilors, including those who have abandoned party discipline. The same thing is happening in the Navarrese municipality of Milagro, where Santos Cerdán comes from, where the PSOE retains local government thanks to the support of the sister of the former Organizing Secretary, designated by the UCO, as first deputy mayor, although she resigned from her activism in August.

In the town of Monforte de Lemos (Lugo), its mayor, José Tomé, managed to convince all the councilors who accompanied him on the municipal list to follow in his footsteps and go to the mixed group.

Almussafes

Almussafes is the place where the PSOE has the easiest time ousting from power the current mayor, Toni González, who abandoned his organic functions last Saturday after being accused by a woman of sexual harassment, but take refuge in municipal power. In the last elections, the Socialists obtained eight representatives, one more than the absolute majority.

With this result, if the management of Diana Morant wants to replace him, it could do so with the remaining seven councilors who, despite their proximity to González, remain under the discipline of the PSPV. Sources close to the Minister of Science and Innovation, consulted by this newspaper, indicate that “for the moment” this scenario is not envisagedthey will therefore keep the party’s number two in the province of Valencia as mayor.

Barbados

In Barbadás, its mayor, Xosé Carlos Valcárcel, refuses to resign from his position as advisor and as a deputy although he resigned as a member of the PSOE. Valcárcel, who categorically denied being a harasser, affirming that he cannot be harassed for any type of irregular behavior, was denounced through internal channels of the PSOE for an alleged case of harassment at work.

During the last elections the PSOE obtained a total of seven advisorsthose who added to the two of the BNG, added the nine which delimit the absolute majority. The Valcárcel march of the PSOE leaves the coalition with eight representatives. Socialists and nationalists could propose another PSOE councilor to replace the current mayor, but for this they would need his resignation and the favorable vote of the person accused of harassment. They could also propose a motion of censure if they manage to convince Democracia Ourensana or the Galician Party, two formations with one representative, or the PP, which has six.

Miracle

The PSOE continues to govern in Milagro (Navarra) thanks to the support of non-registered councilor Belén Cerdánsister of former party organizational secretary Santos Cerdán, alleged leader of a criminal organization that rigged public works contracts. After her brother’s imprisonment, in July, the first deputy mayor of Milagro resigned as a socialist deputy because of the treatment that Ferraz had inflicted on her relative. However, as this newspaper progressed in its time, it decided to keep its minutes in the town hall.

In 2023, the candidacy of Belén Cerdán was ranked number two It obtained a total of six representatives in the municipal council, one more than the PP. For this reason, according to party sources at the regional level, the mayor of the city, very close to the Cerdán family, chose to retain the same functions held by the sister of the former number three of the PSOE, although he did not resign as requested by the regional leadership. It is worth remembering that the UCO pointed the finger at Belén Cerdán in one of its reports because she allegedly received a payment from the Servinabar company, at the center of the alleged corruption plot.

Monforte de Lemos

The case of Monforte de Lemos is the most particular and the worst scenario for the Socialist Party. After the changes in the speech of the general secretary of the PSdeG, José Ramón Gómez Besteiro, regarding whether or not he was aware of the complaints against José Tomé, the mayor of the city and all the councilors who are part of the municipal group withdrew from the PSOE and became unaffiliated. So that, overnight, the socialists no longer have any representatives in Monforte de Lemos, where until a week ago they governed with an absolute majority.

One of the big unknowns is what will happen at the Provincial Councilan entity that Tomé himself chaired until a few days ago. For the moment, the Monforte councilor, who was also secretary general of the PSdeG in the province of Lugo, has only left the presidency of the supramunicipal body, not his seat. Tomé’s departure could leave the PP and the sum of the PSOE and the BNG, which until now governed with 13 deputies, tied, so that the person accused of sexual harassment will be the one who decides on his successor.

Besteiro convenes its executive on Monday

The secretary general of the PSdeG, where two of the main cases of sexual harassment affecting the PSOE are now concentrated, summoned his executive to a face-to-face meeting this Monday. The objective, according to Galician socialist sources, is to calm the waters after a week of great tension, with the resignation of the Secretary of Equality and concerned leaders like the mayor of La Coruña, Inés Rey, demanding a stronger hand. Privately, for days, Besteiro and his number two, Lara Méndez, have been accused internally of having lied about whether or not they were aware of the complaints. Some senior PSdeG officials believe that both should resign.