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Since the dawn of democracy (uh... in 1977), municipal life in Mojácar has been a continuous somersault. If it’s not ‘motions of censure’, it’s the ‘transfugas’ (politicians who change sides) that characterise the politics of that particular municipality.
Anyone who fancies his chances in politics will begin his profession with a vocal concern for the interest of the community. Of course, the reality is a fraction different, and the public-spirited interest rapidly shrinks into more personal concerns. Private deals and family connections become the lynch-pins behind our local heroes and the occasional scandals that come to light are invariably based in some way on these items, personal and family self-interest, and, of course, the odd bit of vote rigging.
There is, however, a sizable chunk of ‘European’ residents, mainly British, with the right to vote in local elections – and not just Mojácar, but in a sizable number of communities in the area. In fact, there would be a much larger percentage if they all remembered to put themselves on the town register, the ‘padrón’ (simplicity itself – take your ID and a copy of your ‘escritura’ or rental agreement to your town hall). Being on the ‘padrón’, being over 18 and being European gives you the right for full suffrage in local elections.
With this in mind, I think that it’s time that you, the ‘extranjeros’, should get a bit more political. You don’t belong to the clans or the families, don’t have the same tradition of selling or knocking down everything that has a brick on it (or a rock), and you appear to be more concerned about the well-being, security and prosperity of your adopted towns than the locals are. You could take some of these places and give them a good shaking, and put some order and form back into the town halls of the Almerian levante, particularly, of course, Mojácar.
To do this, you need to prepare for the next local elections (the last Sunday in May 2007) by proposing a full foreign candidature rather than allowing the odd foreign name to lurk at the bottom of our own Spanish lists in some attempt to pull a few European votes in exchange for – absolutely nothing (remember, we did it before!).
This candidature would, in my opinion, help repair the invidious condition of our local politics by obliging our ‘Good ol’ Boys’ to behave themselves. Now that’s worth a thought! |
