The highs and the lows

Following the huge success of the Feria at the weekend, we now read that Pastor Medina, the company that completed the remodelling of Avenida Apatel which leads from the roundabout into the town, claim that Bigastro still owes 186,000 Euros for the work. The project, which was completed at the end of 2009, cost 355,000 Euros and was to be to be funded 70% by the government under Plan E and 30% by the local council.

The mayor, Raúl Valerio Medina, claims that the 70% has been paid and that the amount owed is actually 107,000 Euros. He says this will be paid in instalments once the council have received further moneys from local taxes.

For their part, Pastor Medina, who employ sixty workers, say that the mayor is “shameless” adding that other towns they have worked for including Pilar de la Horadada, Los Montesinos and Formentera del Segura have paid in full for work they have completed for them. They say that Bigastro has not even approached the company with a plan to pay off the debt. Knowing that the town already owes large sums of money for electricity and rubbish collection, they are considering taking legal action against the council.

The PP party in Bigastro have already accused the mayor of using part of the money from Feil to pay off other debts. They say that the council are “exhausted”, that the town needs “fresh air”. Whether that will come with the local elections in May remains to be seen. We know that Zapatero’s socialist government have lost popularity and that he has already said that he will not be taking part in the next full elections in 2012. He hopes that, making this announcement now, will prevent voters from defecting to the PP in May.

However, I’m told that local elections in Bigastro are more about personalities than party politics so we may not see a change in the town hall come May. In fact, whichever party takes control of the council for the next term of office, the huge debts that Bigastro owes to various companies will still remain. It is hard to imagine just how any party will be able to form a plan to clear such massive amounts of money even in the long term.