At 7:19 in the morning a WhatsApp message arrives to the PSOE mayor of Almaraz, Juan Antonio Díaz, already awake at that time to finalize all the details because, precisely that day, the festivities in honor of his patron saint, San Roque, begin: "The Almaraz extension will now be published in the BOE. Congratulations." You have to read it twice. I didn't expect it. Or at least not on these important holidays, with the garlands and all the festive decorations newly placed and debuting to decorate the streets of the town (1,594 inhabitants) with color. Not because it was desired, the councilor believed that it was going to be announced with the beginning of the political course, in September. The advice of his interlocutor, a well-informed senior official, does not fail. There is no time for any leaks. Eleven minutes later, at 7:30 o'clock, like every day, the most powerful document in Spain is made public.
The newspaper seems to have received the order to print the historic text (nº199, Sec. III. Page 114812) as a cover story, on August 14, the eve of the national holiday of the Assumption of the Virgin, with more than half of Spain celebrating and the other half in full departure operation, with the roads crowded with the biggest traffic of the year. "It seems that they wanted no one to find out," say the worst thinkers of a region, that of Campo Arañuelo, which has lived on a war footing for the last two years of tense waiting.
"We have all fought together" for the survival of more than four thousand jobs (direct and indirect), highlights Juan Antonio Díaz, spokesperson for the social platform 'Almaraz Sí'. "There have been no political differences, we have all gone hand in hand," corroborates the mayor of Tiétar, Laura González, from the PSOE. "Those of us who live in small towns are on the street, we cannot hide, and [the neighbors] convey their concern to you daily. I was convinced that the resolution was going to be positive," she says.
The one who really breathes a sigh of relief is the mayor of Almaraz. You can see the joy in his eyes. He has suffered a lot. He has confronted the party, inside and outside the region, and has been, by far, the one who has raised the tone of his criticism the most. "It is a shame that PSOE deputies vote against Almaraz," he said in statements to EL MUNDO in November of last year.
Yesterday, however, he was "immensely happy." If they didn't bring out "the champagne" in the morning it was because the news had to be confirmed. We had to wait until late at night, with the party already in full swing and the bars in the street at full capacity. "Today is important, we have fought a lot, but we must continue working for three years, this does not end today," the mayor insisted this Friday at street level.
When the news began to spread, early in the morning, there was movement in the WhatsApp groups. "Too late," writes a socialist, recalling that several councilors have resigned in recent times and there were even mayors who threatened to do so and not appear as heads of the list in the next municipal elections, in May 2027.
This is what 15 socialist councilors told the President of the Government in February in a harsh letter: "It is difficult for us to understand the lack of clarity in the political approach of our party and this Government and the unjustified delay in the decision." "We'll see if there's time to turn around," commented another in the group. A dozen municipalities in the area receive 15 million euros annually from the center in taxes. In many cases it represents 60% of their total budgets. Almaraz leads the ranking of Extremadura towns in terms of income (€42,354 per year per household). He barely has unemployment.
"Until the plant arrived we didn't know what a paved street was"
Part of the plant workers have been off since this Friday taking advantage of the holiday, although the plant continues to operate on Victory Day. Víctor Sánchez (45 years old), a native of Almaraz, works in maintaining plant control. His grandfather and father also worked at the plant. "We didn't want to leave here and start a life again. It is a day to be very happy, because until now we have not been able to plan our lives or make investments."
