José Domingo Regalado has returned as mayor of Granadilla de Abona following a censure motion initiated by Canarian Coalition, Popular Party (PP), and Vox against the PSOE and its mayor, Jennifer Miranda. All 13 councillors from the signing parties voted in favour of the nationalist candidate, while the councillors from the Socialist Party exited the plenary session before it concluded.
Galado González (Granadilla de Abona, 1981), who was not handed the gavel by the socialist councillor presiding over the meeting and had to retrieve it from the ballot box, announced plans to revive projects paused during the previous administration, and pledged to enhance the transparency of municipal management through listening and active engagement with citizens, along with restoring institutional relations.
In a packed Caldea plenary session filled with residents attending in person and those following along in the Plaza González Mena, the newly formed local government, comprising 10 from CC, two from Vox, and one from PP, was accompanied by both organic and public representatives from their respective parties amidst a security operation involving the Local Police, the Autonomous Police, and the Civil Guard.
The new mayor asserted that censure is a democratic instrument and questioned why its application is condemned when individuals like Pedro Martín, present at the plenary, and Pedro Sánchez held the presidency of the Cabildo and the State respectively. Regalado reminded his predecessor that she lacks a majority and asserted that “the people have spoken,” with 11 leftist councillors and 14 right-wing councillors present in the Granadilla plenary. He charged her with neglecting to manage and overlooking over €6 million that the previous administration had earmarked for investments. Galado criticised PSOE for interfering in the management of areas governed by the PP, claiming they acted as the opposition while in power.
Gratitude
In turn, Jennifer Miranda (Granadilla de Abona, 1989) received support from prominent PSOE members on the island, including Tamara Raya, Pedro Martín, Marco González, José Julián Mena, and Patricia Hernández.
The outgoing mayor highlighted the efforts made since June 2023, expressed gratitude to Bianca Cerbán for their support, and reiterated her commitment to “the people,” while seeking to undermine the legitimacy of the censure motion through criticisms of CC. “This motion does not reflect the will of the people. It has been premeditated and orchestrated from the Government’s presidency. It was directed from Santa Cruz. The person behind it is not the former mayor but Fernando Clavijo himself, using a pawn with Vox’s backing. This undermines rights that have been won.”
Miranda spoke about the nationalist, who will reclaim leadership in the City of Granadilla de Abona: “Regalado is merely a figurehead who benefits, despite not having been elected himself,” summed up the former mayor.
The Aim
Marcos Antonio Rodríguez, a councillor from the Popular Party, became the primary target of criticism from attendees. His vote was crucial for the censure motion’s success, while his colleague in the PP, Bianca Cerbán, voted against it. Both had been governing in alliance with PSOE since the beginning of the term on June 17, 2023. During the session, the PP councillor who endorsed the censure motion reproached Miranda for treating the PP as subordinate and claimed that he had forgotten that he was the one who risked becoming mayor.
The censure motion succeeded because CC councillors Marcos José González Alonso and Carmen Yanira González González signed an agreement to resign once the new governing group is established. This was a stipulation laid down by Marco Antonio Rodríguez, who regards them as defectors from the PP as both were members of that party until March 2023, when they left to join the Canarian Coalition after learning that they would not be included on the PP list. Their resignations are anticipated to occur soon.
Two Years Later
José Sanabria González and Adaisy Arias Pérez are the two Vox councillors in Granadilla de Abona. Their involvement in the censure motion had been assured by CC for months, having previously reached agreements following the municipal elections held in May 2023. An arrangement was made to establish the exact municipal government now in place, 21 months and eight days later, through this censure motion.
In June 2023, the two PP councillors ignored their party’s directives and allied with PSOE, facilitating the election of socialist Jennifer Miranda as mayor, which prompted the initiation of investigations against each councillor, which concluded two months ago without any penalties. This time, Marcos Antonio Rodríguez has aligned himself with his political party while Bianca Cerbán opts to sustain the alliance she forged with the Socialists almost two years prior. Her future within the Popular Party is uncertain.
Three-Time Mayor
José Domingo Regalado serves as Mayor of Granadilla de Abona for the third occasion. On September 15, 2016, he put forth a censure motion against the PSOE and its mayor, Jaime González Cejas, which was approved on the 27th of that month. He governed in a coalition with PP and Citizens until June 15, 2019. In another coalition with the Popular Party, he held the mayoral position from then until June 17, 2023. As of March 26, 2025, he embarks on his third term following a second censure motion, once more with the PP and now with Vox, an ultra-right party.
In addition to the formal allocation of Management Areas, the Granadilla de Abona Municipal Government currently awaits the resignations of the CC councillors who were previously affiliated with the PP, Marcos González and Yanira González.
A Brief History
The Granadilla de Abona City Plenary, following the elections on May 28, 2023, consists of 11 PSOE councillors (who garnered 6,348 votes, a 37.93% increase compared to 2019, and gained three councillors), 10 Canarian Coalition members (who obtained 5,891 votes, indicating a 35.19% growth and two additional councillors from the previous elections), 1,535 votes for another party, a 9.17% increase, but one less), and two VOX councillors (who secured a seat in the Council with 1,190 votes, accounting for 7.11% of the total cast).
In the nine municipal elections conducted since 1991, the PSOE has emerged victorious in Granadilla de Abona, under Jaime González Cejas until 2015, and with Jennifer Miranda since 2019. Out of the 46 years since the first general elections, CC or ATI have won three elections (in 1979, 1983, and 1987) managing the municipality for nearly 23 years (in 1979, under the name of Granadilla de Abona). The PSOE has governed for the remaining duration.
