A mayor in Sevilla province has sensationally resigned from his position, telling voters: ‘I’d rather stop being mayor than become a bad person.’
Francisco Garcia Gonzalez, the PSOE mayor of Villanueva del Ariscal, announced that he is stepping down after three years at the helm of the town hall, despite governing with an absolute majority.
He vowed to leave politics altogether and will instead return to his former job as a nurse at the San Juan de Dios del Aljarafe Hospital in Bormujos.
Garcia Gonzalez announced the decision in an emotional video posted on social media, describing it as ‘very difficult and very carefully considered’.
‘This video is a farewell,’ he said, insisting his resignation was ‘solely a personal matter’, which he had discussed with ‘the most important people in his life’, his wife and children.
Above all, he said, the decision was about ‘taking care of my personal health.’
The outgoing mayor also offered a candid account of the pressures he has experienced during his time in office.
‘When things don’t turn out as you expect, after having worked to achieve them, I suffer a lot because of the demands I place on myself and because I want to achieve perfection in everything,’ he said.
But Garcia Gonzalez also took aim at aspects of political life, denouncing ‘partisan practices that sometimes cross ethical boundaries.’
‘Political criticism is necessary. Disqualification and manipulation are harmful. Not everything goes,’ he said.
The mayor said his political career had introduced him to ‘good, loyal people’, but also others he wished he had ‘never met.’
‘Our society, our town, must recover respect, honesty and humanity, and no political strategy can take precedence over direct attacks on people,’ he added.
It was while reflecting on those experiences that Garcia Gonzalez delivered the line that summed up his departure.
‘I’d rather stop being mayor than become a bad person.’
His next move will see him swap the town hall for the hospital ward.
‘I’m going back to my job, I’m going back to my beloved work as a nurse at the San Juan de Dios del Aljarafe Hospital in Bormujos,’ he said.
‘I’m going back to my exciting day-to-day life, always trying to help people through public healthcare. In short, I’m returning to my vocation as a healthcare professional.’
He added: ‘I have never stopped being Curro and I don’t want to stop being Curro.’ Curro is a common nickname for Francisco in Spanish.
Garcia Gonzalez also used his farewell to highlight what he considers the achievements of his administration, including the modernisation of municipal processes, stabilising the council workforce and investment in parks and public spaces.
The PSOE currently controls seven of the 13 council seats in Villanueva del Ariscal, a town of around 6,700 people, giving the party an absolute majority. The remaining six councillors belong to the PP.
Garcia Gonzalez’s resignation must now go through the corresponding procedure at a municipal plenary session.
His departure comes after the Andalucian High Court, the TSJA, recently struck down Villanueva del Ariscal’s municipal budget and ordered the council to pay costs after finding that procedural rules concerning the urgency used to process it had not been followed.
However, Garcia Gonzalez has presented his resignation as a personal decision centred on his health and the pressures of political life, rather than linking it to that ruling.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
