Local government

Deputy mayor of Nerja resigns 'for personal and professional' reasons

The departure of Francisco Arce, who had been a councillor in the eastern Costa del Sol town since 2019, comes four months after the resignation of Marcelo Berutti, who left the sports department also "for professional reasons"

Francisco Arce and José Alberto Armijo, in the Mayor's office. (SUR)

10/08/2026 a las 12:22h.

The first deputy mayor of Nerja town hall Francisco Arce (PP), submitted his resignation as a councillor in the eastern Costa del Sol town on ... Friday 7 August for "personal and professional reasons", according to the council. His departure brings to an end a seven-year spell as a councillor and marks the second departure from the Partido Popular (PP) governing team, which holds an absolute majority, in just four months.

Arce informed the mayor, José Alberto Armijo, of his decision following the full council meeting which took place on Friday morning. The resignation must be formally acknowledged by the council at a forthcoming meeting in order to take effect, after which the town hall will notify the central electoral board of the vacancy.

The next person on the PP's list of candidates to fill the post is Eva García López, who was number 14 on the list submitted by the PP for the local elections in May 2023. Once the central electoral board has issued the relevant certificate of appointment, the process for her to join the council for the remainder of the term of office, until the May 2027 elections, may continue.

Francisco Arce is leaving the town halll after seven years as a councillor but will continue to head the general secretariat of the local Nerja branch of the PP

Since 2019 Arce has held various posts, including those responsible for security and transport, infrastructure and beaches. During this term of office, he also held the position of first deputy mayor, which placed him among the key political figures in Armijo's executive. He served as a councillor between 1995 and 2015 and again from 2019 onwards. Between 2015 and 2019, the PSOE governed under the leadership of the socialist Rosa Arrabal, in a coalition with IU and EVA-Podemos, with the support of Ciudadanos.

The mayor has thanked Arce for "the commitment, dedication and sense of responsibility" he demonstrated during his time in local government and has highlighted his work "in the service of the people of Nerja and Maro". Despite leaving the town hall, Arce has expressed his intention to continue as head of the general secretariat of the Nerja branch of the PP, as stated by the town hall in a press release.

'Heavy workload'

The resignation comes just four months after Marcelo Berutti, who had until then been the councillor for sport, stepped down. Berutti announced on 15 April that he was stepping down from the post due to his "heavy workload as a tax adviser and the difficulty of balancing this with his municipal responsibilities".

That resignation also necessitated the activation of the replacement mechanism provided for in the PP's electoral list. The seat was due to go to Antonia Martín Triviño, number 13 on the PP's 2023 list, who has already taken up her post as a councillor.

Arce's departure is the second high-profile resignation from the PP-led town hall in four months, following the resignation of councillor Marcelo Berutti in April

The replacement of the resigning councillors with the next candidates on the list will allow this majority to remain intact once the relevant formalities have been completed.

The town hall has not yet announced how the areas previously managed by Arce will be redistributed, nor who will take over as first deputy mayor. The next full council meeting will serve to formalise the resignation and set the procedure in motion before the central electoral board, marking the second reshuffle of Nerja's municipal government since April and with just nine months to go before the next local elections.

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