ORIHUELA — There is a thief in the Vega Baja, but it doesn’t wear a mask or carry a weapon. It is a “population anomaly” that is systematically emptying the historic heart of Orihuela, stealing its youth, and leaving a trail of shuttered businesses in its wake.
Mario Martínez Murcia, President of the Orihuela Chamber of Commerce, is sounding the alarm on what he describes as a demographic crime scene. The victim? The city’s urban center. The culprits? A chronic lack of industrial infrastructure, a drought of affordable housing, and a political “cold case” involving stalled development plans.
The Great Talent Heist
According to Martínez Murcia, Orihuela is suffering from a “strong demographic imbalance” that feels like a targeted hit. While the coastal areas thrive on the influx of foreign investment and residential tourism, the city center is being bled dry.
“We are witnessing the exodus of entire generations,” Martínez Murcia warned. Without high-quality, technological jobs to anchor them, the city’s brightest minds are fleeing to neighboring provinces. The President admitted the crisis has hit home: three of his own children have already joined the ranks of the “disappeared,” forced to find work in Valencia and Alicante.
The evidence of this decline is visible on every street corner. “Practically 60% of the commercial premises in the center of Orihuela are now closed,” he noted—a ghost town aesthetic that serves as a grim monument to the city’s economic stagnation.
A Region Left for Dead
The Chamber of Commerce points to a “premeditated” lack of support from higher authorities. Martínez Murcia denounced the systematic underfunding of the Vega Baja, describing it as a region ignored by both the state and the regional government in Valencia.
The primary “evidence” of this neglect is the Vega Renace Plan of 2019. Once a comprehensive blueprint for the region’s survival—signed by mayors, businesses, and civil society—the plan has effectively been “erased.” Martínez Murcia claims the current regional government renamed the project before “putting it in a drawer” and walking away.
The Hostage Situation: Water and Land
The crisis extends to the very soil of the region. Martínez Murcia frames the water shortage not as a natural disaster, but as a failure of management. He warned that without the “essential element” of water transfers, the region’s agriculture—the last line of defense against climate change—will fail.
“If we don’t act, desertification will reach Madrid in 40 years,” he cautioned, framing the farmers of Vega Baja as the unsung heroes holding back a geographical catastrophe.
The Investigation Continues
As we move into 2026, the Chamber of Commerce is attempting its own “rescue mission.” The plan involves:
- The Creation of a Technology Park: A strategic “revulsion” to attract and retain talent.
- Private Sector Intervention: A call for private investors to fill the void left by inadequate public funding.
- The Expansion of Training: Utilizing the Chamber’s 126-year history to retrain the workforce and revitalize the urban core.
The message from the Chamber is clear: unless the city council and regional authorities stop the “flight of talent” and address the housing shortage, the center of Orihuela will remain a crime scene of lost potential.
