«Municipalism is consolidating itself as a powerful political alternative in the current global context»

OPINION | Gent of Dénia

Municipalism is consolidating itself as a powerful political alternative in the current global context characterized by the ineffectiveness of traditional political formations to address the real problems of society.

First Autonomous Congress of the Municipalist Union of the Valencian Community

This movement is centered on the idea that cities and municipalities should lead change and progress by being closer to the everyday realities of their inhabitants. Rather than waiting for solutions from distant government bodies, municipalism promotes decentralization, allowing decisions to be made at a local level and directly reflect the needs and aspirations of the community.

By putting the emphasis on the local, municipalism not only finds more efficient responses to global challenges, but also manages to revitalize democracy, making citizens involved and strengthened in the decision-making processes that affect their daily lives. Citizens take the reins of their decisions, not delegating them to distant institutions that, by necessity, do not become deeply knowledgeable about local reality, always subject to their regional or national interests.

However, the path towards effective municipalism is not without challenges, such as limited funding and the resistance of traditional power structures, which always resist losing their share of power and influence. Despite these obstacles, the continued growth of municipalism indicates the evolution of the way in which we understand and exercise governance of our cities and surroundings. New and fresh alternatives are being consolidated, capable of achieving a more sustainable and fair future, far from submission to the interests and manipulations of traditional parties. The transversality and proximity that municipalism brings breaks with society's distancing from political action and recovers the closer and more human face in the making of decisions that decisively affect us in our daily lives.

The growth of municipalism guarantees the construction from below of a society of human dimensions, more respectful and closer. A society free from the structures of influence peddling of the Megaparties and their satellites of convenience, which suffocate and distort reality until they become completely removed from the reality in which we citizens live.

A highlight of this continued growth has been the 1st regional congress of the Unión Municipalista de la Comunitat Valenciana, where Jorge Rodríguez, mayor of Onteniente, was unanimously elected regional coordinator.

Rodríguez has been supported by around 200 municipal public officials from the provinces of Alicante, Castelló and Valencia. They gave the starting signal for municipalism as an organised structure that, today, already has enough votes to be the third force at the regional level.

Gent de Dénia is the oldest municipal entity with more than 40 years of uninterrupted work for Dénia. It is a founding member of the Federation of Local Parties of the Valencian Community, FEPAL, the embryo of the current Unión Municipalista.