Frigiliana town hall does U-turn on leaving Axarquía association of town halls

The town of Frigiliana in Malaga province's Axarquía area has put a hold, at least temporarily, on its withdrawal from the Costa del Sol-Axarquía Mancomunidad association of town halls.

On Monday 13 July, the mayor, Alejandro Herrero (PSOE), submitted a letter addressed to the president of the association requesting that the matter be removed from the agenda and that “a new period of analysis and assessment” be opened before proceeding with the matter.

The request was submitted just one day before the association’s general assembly was due to take note of the voluntary withdrawal of Frigiliana which has a registered population of just 3,400. The item was listed as the third item in the resolution section of the ordinary meeting convened for Tuesday 14 July at the Mancomunidad's headquarters in Torre del Mar.

Following the mayor’s announcement, the item was ultimately not debated and was left on the table at the request of Frigiliana town hall. The Mancomunidad confirmed after the meeting that Frigiliana town hall had requested a temporary halt to the proceedings in order to "reconsider this decision and open a new period of analysis and assessment".

The document signed by Herrero, to which SUR has had access, states that, following the town hall's approval of the resolution to leave the Mancomunidad, the town hall now considers it "appropriate to reconsider that decision and to open a new period of analysis and assessment before proceeding with its implementation".

The president of the Mancomunidad, Jorge Martín, has told SUR that he is pleased about the reconsideration. “Unity is strength; together we are stronger, we make the region stronger and we have greater capacity,” said Martín, who is also deputy mayor of Canillas de Albaida.

Martín argued that the Mancomunidad has been built “on the efforts and solidarity of all” towns and villages, particularly the larger, tourist-oriented and coastal municipalities. In his view, Frigiliana’s continued membership is particularly significant given the international profile of the town.

“Frigiliana is a national and international benchmark in tourism, which is why it is so important that it remains in the association,” said Martín, adding, "Together we can achieve more, so I am delighted that they have reconsidered."

Herrero did not attend Tuesday’s meeting. SUR has tried unsuccessfully to obtain a statement from the mayor regarding the specific reasons for the reconsideration, the validity of the agreement adopted by the town hall and the conditions that might determine whether Frigiliana remains a member permanently.

This U-turn comes after years of criticism of the Mancomunidad by Herrero. In November 2025, he claimed that the benefits and services Frigiliana received were "zero" and criticised the fact that one of the main services consisted of having access to a cherry picker once a month.

The mayor argued at the time that Frigiliana was paying around 2,000 euros a month and questioned both the usefulness of the regional tourism promotion for Frigiliana and the body’s ability to provide technical assistance to small local councils.

The dispute escalated after the Mancomunidad was unable to provide staff to investigate certain disciplinary cases brought by the town hall. Herrero requested information on the workforce, job roles and the remuneration of political office-holders to check, as he put it, whether “there are too few politicians and too many civil servants, or, conversely, too many politicians and too few civil servants”.

It was not the first time the mayor had threatened to leave the Mancomunidad. Back in June 2022, he stated that membership "costs more than it brings in" and claimed that he had been asking for information on the procedure required to formalise his withdrawal for two years.

The Mancomunidad association of town halls in the Axarquía was established in 1974 on the initiative of the five coastal municipalities and currently comprises the 31 towns in the east of Malaga province. Its responsibilities and activities include promoting tourism, fostering cooperation between local councils, managing certain services and providing technical assistance to local councils.

This reconsideration also comes two weeks after a Guardia Civil operation placed Frigiliana town hall at the centre of a judicial investigation into alleged offences of misconduct in public office and embezzlement of public funds. The mayor, five Socialist councillors and several members of staff are named as persons under investigation in proceedings led by the court in Torrox.