Opinion Article by Quique Montero
In recent years, a narrative has been gaining ground in Orihuela Costa proposing territorial independence as the only way to solve the well-known problems of institutional neglect in this area. A narrative that is growing, yes, but that is built on a vacuum – on a simplistic reading of the past, a self-serving denial of the structural causes of the present and an unrealistic promise for the future.
Truthfully, Orihuela has lived with deep territorial imbalances for too long. The Coast, the districts, and even many neighbourhoods in the city itself have been systematically underfunded. The lack of services, investment, planning, and attention has generated frustration, and rightly so.
But the narrative we are now hearing – and which we have heard before – that Orihuela Centre is stealing from the Coast, is not true, and it is also dangerous. Trying to build an identity in negative terms, against the rest of the citizens, does not usually lead to any good. If any citizen of the Coast visits other parts of the municipality, they will see that public transport is non-existent, that cleaning and waste collection are inadequate, that many public services are underfunded and that heritage, of all kinds, is in a state of neglect.
What they will see is the same political class that, for years, has been more concerned with its political or personal interests than with letting Orihuela (be it the centre, the Coast or the pedanías) to progress as a modern, connected city, capable of playing a leading role in the Vega Baja region.
Such a large and scattered municipality, with so many districts and two large population centres, can no longer be governed as if everything happened in Orihuela Centre. That model no longer works.
For years, it was possible to hide this fact because the occupation of Orihuela Costa was more of a seasonal phenomenon, with less continuous demand for services. But that has changed. Today’s Orihuela Costa is a year-round residential area with constant demand for services, and it is not prepared to meet that demand. Why? Because those who govern it still have the same mindset they had two decades ago.
For over a decade, Cambiemos Orihuela have been proposing a new model for the municipality, based on real, effective and fair decentralisation. Unlike some opportunistic slogans which are being heard in the latest plenary sessions, we have been projecting a plan that gives a voice and services to all those parts of the municipality that have been ignored until now.
We propose a Municipal Decentralisation Plan based on three fundamental pillars:
Firstly, territorialising municipal budget revenue and expenditure: in other words, knowing clearly how much is collected and invested in each district, neighbourhood or urban centre, because only then can we guarantee a fair and proportional distribution of resources, based on the real needs of each area and not on political interests or calculations.
In this sense, we must consider that distributing public investment equitably means correcting historical inequalities and planning with a comprehensive vision. It makes no sense to design a sports city that groups all the facilities in Orihuela Centre if, at the same time, there are no plans for a sports area on the Coast with the capacity to expand and meet the existing demand.
Decentralising the budget does not mean dividing resources – it means putting them where they are needed. It means ensuring that every part of the municipality, large or small, has decent facilities, adequate services and prospects for improvement.
Secondly, assessing the real needs for staff, infrastructure and services in each area, taking into account the different needs that different areas have, from a pedanía to big areas such as Orihuela Costa or La Murada. Not all of them need the same things, but they all have the right to a local, efficient and effective administration.
It makes no sense that many residents have to travel to Orihuela town centre to carry out basic procedures or municipal tasks that could easily be done in their own districts or on the Coast.
The local government should focus on ensuring that the land available to the City Council is used to expand and strengthen public services: civic centres, service offices, libraries, sports and health facilities; instead of handing it over to private operators to do business, as we have already seen way too many times. Because when common resources are used for private interests, residents are being denied what is rightfully theirs.
And, thirdly, juntas de distrito with real autonomy, decision-making power and their own resources should be established, so that they are a decisive point in the management of their neighbourhoods, districts or boroughs.
The already existing juntas de distrito are a first step, but they are clearly insufficient in their current form. For these bodies to function properly, the first thing to do is to reorganise the districts in a coherent manner, grouping together areas with similar problems and needs.
Currently, there are districts that unite territories with no connection to each other, while others divide spaces that should be planned and managed jointly. In addition, many of these juntas de distrito currently function as mere information meetings, with no budget or real decision-making power. It is therefore urgent to review their functioning, provide them with resources and give them real political weight.
They should not be a formality, a waste of time or an excuse to meet with advisers and local councillors who are aligned with the government in power. They should be useful, open spaces that truly represent the citizens. This is a starting point that should have been undertaken long ago.
There is still a lot to do, and we should be clear about the path forward. And that path does not involve dividing Orihuela, pitting neighbourhoods or citizens against each other or promoting false solutions.
It involves recognising the real diversity of our municipality and governing it with intelligence, fairness and proximity. Because decentralisation is not fragmentation: it is modernisation. It is providing Orihuela with a better organisation of what we share. It is ensuring that every person, wherever they live in the municipality, has access to the same rights, services and opportunities.
In the face of improvised speeches, empty promises and those who only show up when it’s time to scrape together votes, Cambiemos Orihuela is presenting a real proposal, built from a vision which takes into account the real needs of Orihuela’s different territories. And, in the face of shortcuts, here is a project that we can all be a part of in order to change the Coast, to change the pedanías, and, ultimately, to change Orihuela.
