REVIEW - Right-Wing Representative To Head Andalusia's Government For First Time In 36 Years

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) Representative of the Centre-right People's Party, or, as it is also called, Popular Party (PP), Juan Manuel Moreno (Juanma Moreno) will be the new head of Andalusia's government, the largest Spanish autonomous community, after the regional election.

This vote put an end to the 36-year rule of Socialists in Andalusia. Although the Socialist Party (PSOE) won the election on December 2, it could not get enough support from other parties so that their leader, Susana Diaz, would again head the Andalusian government. Socialists have 33 seats in the parliament, while the PP is represented by 26 lawmakers.

The victory of the right-wing candidate became possible thanks to 12 lawmakers from the far-right Vox party. The December election in Andalusia became historic, as the far-right forces managed to get seats in the regional parliament for the first time in 40 years. Since the early 1980s, not a single member of any far-right party has been represented in both the national parliament and the parliaments of Spanish autonomous communities.

"You become the president of the government together with the heirs of the [Spanish former dictator Francisco] Franco's regime," Diaz said at the debate on the eve of the vote, addressing Moreno.

In addition to Vox's 12 lawmakers, Moreno's candidacy was supported by 21 representatives of the center-right Citizens party. Thus, a total of 59 lawmakers out of 109 voted for the candidate from PP.

The representative of centrists Juan Marin will serve as the deputy prime minister, while there will be no far-right representatives in the government. On January 9, PP and the center-right Citizens party reached the coalition deal. The Vox party supported the deal after the PP agreed to meet several of its requirements, including the settlement of the illegal migration issue.

After the vote, Moreno himself announced the "beginning of a new era in Andalusia." Commenting on Diaz's statement about the support for Franco's regime, he added that he did not like it when someone was "sticking labels."

"Vox is a new party, their future policy will determine, in which direction they will move," the new head of Andalusia's government said.

In order to support Moreno in the parliament, Vox set a number of conditions in negotiations with the PP. In particular, the party demanded to repeal laws to protect women from gender-based violence and to protect the rights of the LGBT community. However, the PP refused to comply with these requirements.

At the same time, the PP agreed with the proposal to repeal the law on the historical memory of Andalusia, which is intended to put an end to the Franco's heritage. The Historical Memory Law will be replaced with a "concord law."

One of Vox's requirements to support the PP candidate was the expulsion of 52,000 illegal immigrants. As it was required by Vox, the new Andalusian government will also create the Family Council, one of whose tasks will be to discourage women from having abortions in case of unwanted pregnancy.

A few hours before the vote, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that he did not question either its results or Moreno's statement. However, he promised that the government would work to ensure respect for the laws on gender equality and "guarantees of the respect for the rights of women in Andalusia."

Numerous protests in defense of women's rights were held in a number of Spanish cities on Tuesday, the first day of debates in the Andalusian Parliament.

The official inauguration of Moreno will be held on Friday.