Holy Week in Albacete was declared of National Tourist Interest seven years ago. Since then, one of its most emblematic images has been that of the Nazarenes, members of the brotherhoods usually dressed in purple carrying or escorting the steps of the procession.
And the City Hall of this city, governed by the PP, wants to pay homage to this figure, in the Plaza de la Virgen de los Llanos, next to the Cathedral. A statue of a Nazarene who would lead the Council of Brotherhoods of the city, chaired by Antonio Martín Ruiz, who is also an advisor to the mayor, Manuel Serrano.
The PP municipal team, which took over from the PSOE-Ciudadanos coalition after the municipal elections of May 2023, has already submitted the report to the Culture Commission to grant the Council of Brotherhoods a total of 10,000 euros in direct aid. According to the report of the Culture and Festivities Department to which you have had access elDiarioclm.esThis statue “will give greater splendor” to this place and will be seen by all the people who come every year when the images leave for the processions of the Cathedral.
The proposal arrived last Monday, August 26, at the Commission, but has not yet been debated or voted on. Municipal sources informed this media that the local government had not provided the relevant reports that confirmed the “general interest” of this initiative.
To “promote artistic heritage”
In its report, the Cultural Service states that Holy Week in Albacete, in addition to being a celebration for all the inhabitants of Albacete, “with its undeniable religious component”, is also an “important cultural and social event”. It states that around 10,000 brothers and more than a thousand musicians distributed in 15 brotherhoods participate in this celebration. It is a celebration, it adds, that has “a very important economic impact for Albacete”.
Let us also remember that the City Hall traditionally collaborates in the Holy Week processions, organized by the Council of Brotherhoods, the entity that coordinates all the events.
He thus justifies that erecting the sculpture of a Nazarene would mean “also improving the artistic heritage of the city”, which would give “greater splendor” to the surroundings of the cathedral. It is at this point that he affirms that the “exceptional character” of the direct granting of this subsidy is based on “the public interest in the cultural, social and economic field” and on “social relevance”.
This concession would be made by modifying the credits in the 2024 municipal budgets.
But there are two important details. The first is that the Council of Brotherhoods already has an annual subsidy, included in the municipal budgets for a total of 14,000 euros and which represents a considerable increase compared to the previous year, in which it received 10,000 euros. In other words, this year it has received 40% more public budget for its activities.
Last February, and shortly before the approval of this subsidy of 14,000 euros, the mayor, Manuel Serrano, met with a representation of the Council of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods, chaired by its president Antonio Martín Ruiz. And this is the second relevant fact. Because the latter, in addition to chairing the association of brothers, a position in which he was reappointed last year, is himself an advisor to the mayor.
His name appears in the resolution of June 17, 2023, approved shortly after the creation of the new City Council, in which all appointments are established “as temporary trusted personnel.” Antonio Martín Ruiz had not been a councilor in the previous legislature of the PSOE and Ciudadanos. His incorporation as a councilor is new, with the PP government team.
For the moment, the statue proposal, in the absence of relevant reports, has been suspended. It is expected that once these documents are prepared, they will be resubmitted to the Culture Commission. Neither the Council of Brotherhoods, nor its president and councilor in the City Council, nor the team of the mayor of the City Council of Albacete wanted to evaluate this proposal in response to questions from elDiarioclm.es
Precisely, during the last plenary session of the Municipal Council, which was extraordinary and ratified that three councilors disqualified by Vox were transferred to the non-registered group, the weighted vote of the municipal commissions was also approved. This means that each councilor represents as many votes as there are councilors who make up his municipal group.
In this way, the vote in the information commissions, councils and boards of directors of the autonomous organizations will reflect the real representation of each of the councilors who participate in these bodies. Thus, the three non-registered councilors will now be able to participate – and vote – in all the commissions and autonomous bodies.
