Seville is what North Americans would call a swing state or swinging district. Since 1979 the capital has had as many as nine mayors from three different parties.
The Socialist Manuel del Valle, who served as mayor from 1983 to 1991; the Socialist Sánchez Monteseirín, who secured reelection in 2003 and 2007, and Juan Espadas, who managed to reaffirm the post in 2019, achieved what Soledad Becerril or Juan Ignacio Zoido had never achieved until now, namely a second term as mayor in Plaza Nueva.
On May 23, 2027, José Luis Sanz will attempt to break the curse that has haunted Seville’s PP since 1979. If in 2023 the PP won by seven points and gained two council seats more than the PSOE, in the regional elections held a few months ago the PP’s lead in the capital widened to a staggering twenty-one points.
“On May 23, 2027, José Luis Sanz will try to break the curse that has followed Seville’s PP since 1979”
That solid lead is the PP’s hope, which is experiencing a difficult end of term due to tensions with Vox after the municipal government led by the PP granted a license to build a mosque in Seville’s Polígono Sur.
Sanz arrived in Seville with municipal experience as mayor of Tomares from 2007 to 2021. His experience in the city bordering Seville and his victories in 2011, 2015 and 2019 backed him to win the Seville mayoralty that he now aspires to revalidate.
Antonio Muñoz, the Socialist candidate, will repeat his bid to recover the mayoralty for the socialists. Muñoz held the post for a little over a year after Espadas left to run for the presidency of the Junta, but was defeated and now he hopes that the left as a whole will preserve the tradition that PP mayors are a brief interlude between long PSOE administrations.
The challenge is not easy for Muñoz: the PP controls all Andalusian capitals except Jaén, where a motion of censure supported by the PSOE and Jaén Merece Más allowed the Socialists to return to power. Additionally, there is the risk that the growth of Adelante Andalucía, as surveys before the regional elections suggested, would depend on drawing voters from both Por Andalucía and the PSOE itself.
“There is a risk that Adelante Andalucía’s growth is built on attracting voters from both Por Andalucía and the Socialist Party itself”
Muñoz’s aspirations largely hinge on Adelante Andalucía. IU and Podemos might run separately next May, greatly complicating a change in Seville. Podemos is currently holding primaries to choose a candidate. Both Podemos and IU say that internal processes do not imply they will run separately.
Vox has not yet designated a candidate either. Gonzalo García de Polavieja is the current party spokesperson, replacing Cristina Peláez, who left Plaza Nueva to go to the Hospital de las Cinco Llagas, the seat of the Andalusian Parliament.
The end of the mandate is not an easy road for Sanz. From Vox they say they are frustrated. Beyond the mosque controversy, the Vox party raises other breaches related to the regulation of low-emission zones (LEZs) or to the Northern Urban Ring.
