Ana Mata becomes first woman mayor of Mijas

The PP councillor was elected in the vote of no confidence this Thursday, ousting Socialist mayor Josele González

Antonio M. Romero

Malaga

Thursday, 2 November 2023, 17:57

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Ana Mata has been sworn in as the new mayor of Mijas and becomes the first woman at the helm of the town hall.

The PP councillor was elected in the vote of no confidence on Thursday this week, ousting Socialist mayor Josele González. As expected, nine councillors from the conservative PP, three from Vox and Juan Carlos Maldonado (Por Mi Pueblo) voted in favour of Mata, forming the required absolute majority.

Ten PSOE and two Ciudadanos councillors voted against the motion in the 25-seat council.

In her first words as mayor, Mata thanked her mother, sister, husband, ex-mayor Ángel Nozal and her “teachers” Esperanza Oña and Ana Mula, ex-mayor and current mayor of Fuengirola.

Claiming her status as a ‘Mijeña’, in response to criticism from the Socialists that she was a councillor at neighbouring Fuengirola for 17-years, Mata restated her allegiance to Mijas. “I learned to ride a bike in the El Coto area; I was at school in El Coto; I have lived all my life in El Coto: I was one of the pupils who graduated at the first secondary school in Mijas: my friends are from Mijas and this mayor from Mijas is going to give her all because I have prepared myself during this time to give the best of me in the land that saw me grow and develop. This is the rest of my life: my town, Mijas,” she said.

In her speech prior to being elected, Mata called for “a change in direction” at the town hall and said the people of Mijas will be represented by a new council which will be “more sensitive to their wishes, more concerned about their problems and eager to make up for lost time”.

Ousted mayor Josele González described the vote as a “betrayal” of Mijas. “You, gentlemen of the Partido Popular, need power like air to breathe, to be able to continue breathing. This lack of air and power leaves you in a position that you do not know how to manage,” he said. In his last speech as mayor, González said the other main reason for this no confidence vote was that “they do not want Mijas to prosper, for the town to continue on the path of growth and prosperity that had begun in the last four years”.

By winning the Mijas mayor’s office, the PP has increased its share of power in the province, where it is now in charge of 48 municipalities inhabited by 1,531,103 people. This means that 89.1% of Malaga province residents have a PP mayor. PP is at the head of 14 of Malaga’s largest towns (those with a population over 20,000).

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