José Ignacio Landaluce, mayor of Algeciras, is once again at the center of controversy for an alleged case of sexual abuse. According to the newspaper Europa Sur in today's edition, a member of the Algeciras PP has already filed a complaint with the Supreme Court for two alleged sexual assaults.
EL MUNDO has confirmed from Supreme Court sources that this complaint does indeed exist and that it has been forwarded to the Prosecutor's Office to decide if there are indications of a crime and if the Court is competent to investigate the facts. José Ignacio Landaluce is a senator in the Mixed Group and therefore has capacity, although the dissolution of the Cortes last Monday could have left him without that capacity, which would force the Supreme Court to transfer the complaint to the ordinary jurisdiction.
The activist, whose name the newspaper does not provide, alludes to events that took place in December 2020 in the medical center owned by the municipal councilor, and the other is located in the City Hall offices, in April 2021.
The complaint also points to a possible crime against the Public Administration since the first mayor allegedly offered a job to the complainant so that she would remain silent.
It should be remembered that Landaluce was already the subject of a similar complaint by local PSOE leaders, including the Andalusian parliamentarian Rocío Arrabal, which was archived. However, this situation led the mayor to request, in December of last year, voluntary withdrawal from the party in which he has been active throughout his political life, but he maintained the baton of command, as until now, with the support of the 15 PP councilors.
Although the Andalusian PP publicly denied that it had made a decision on Landaluce's candidacy for the 2027 municipal elections, internally it was ruled out having him again, especially after the party was aware of testimony of sexist behavior in relation to a colleague from the popular group in the Senate. In this case, no complaint was made, although the PP gave credibility to his story and promised not to readmit him to the party.
The PP has not yet named a candidate in the city for the municipal elections in May. And the pronouncements from the regional leadership are always ambiguous to date.
Landaluce affirms that he will run for re-election
In a video sent to the public and the media, José Ignacio Landaluce has denied "in a resounding and categorical manner" what was reported to the Supreme Court. "These are accusations that I completely reject and against which I will defend my innocence with all the means that the rule of law offers me."
The mayor recalled that, from what was known today, the complaint has not even been admitted for processing yet. "I ask that the courts, and not the press headlines or parallel trials, be the ones to determine the facts," stated Landaluce, later adding that a few months ago he also had to defend himself following a complaint filed by the PSOE and which was not admitted by the Supreme Court.
The senator did not want to "speculate" about "who is behind these accusations or with what motivations." But he has announced that he is going to defend himself: "In politics, not everything goes."
"In the meantime I will continue working for Algeciras as I have always done." "There are 10 months until the next elections. In that time I will continue to break my heart working and I will run again and, if the people of Algeciras want, I will be again and I will have the honor of being their mayor," said Landaluce, who has not specified whether he intends to be head of the list with the PP again or if he will run as an independent.
They ask the PP to withdraw its support
The PSOE of Algeciras, through its local secretary and Andalusian parliamentarian, Rocío Arrabal, has been forceful in its message demanding that Moreno Bonilla not allow Landaluce "to continue even one more minute as mayor of the city."
The PSOE understands that both the president of the Andalusian PP, Juanma Moreno, and the president of the PP of Cádiz, Bruno García, must act so that the 15 councilors of the Algeciras Corporation "withdraw their support for Landaluce."
