MijasNews
From 19th to 25th of August 2011
Mijas Semanal
29
Juan Carlos González, Councillor for Mijas’s Government Team
“I want to do my best for my town” Responsible for Public Roads and Public Street Lighting; Street Markets and Statistics Translation by Karen McMahon
He is a pure mijeño stock as are his ancestors. He was born in 1972, is married and has a 6-year-old daughter and a son who is not quite a month old yet. Although for years he has been dedicated to restoration work he also combined his road transport and administrative studies, he is currently on a sabbatical from post officer work – since he has been a Councillor. He believes that listening to the elderly is “like opening a book” because they have learned “the lesson of life” and he has cultivated hobbies such as pigeon breeding and extreme sports. Mijas Semanal. When did you become interested in local politics? Juan Carlos González. I lived in the time of the golden age of the 80’ when tourism really arrived, everything was fine, but there comes a time in which you see the things that could have been done and were not, you start to have political concerns and disagree with actions that are made and want to change things, you enter into a political party and you realise that your voice is heard. MS. When did you come into contact with the PP? JCG. In 1995 the PP had a meteoric rise. I was a businessman and I got the political bug. It was 2000 when I decided to take the plunge and get political; I remember early on that you felt rejection from the neighbour perhaps because we didn’t have the means to make ourselves known. Based on consistency, effort and being on the street, the Party has been growing and reaching more people. MS. What does being part of
the government team mean? JCG. Being the opposition you see everything differently; When you get into the team of Government the burden of responsibility is great. You are so involved that there are times that you are still thinking about this idea or another, and it is 2am. The time isn’t important but it pains me that the family are more in the background. It is a stage in my life that I would like to contribute my knowledge, my studies and I feel strongly about my municipality. I would like to give it my maximum for my town and afterwards, continue in the post office which, I also love. I am not considering retirement in terms of politics, but when I finish the run my spark will come back, ready for my previous work. MS. What can you contribute to the municipality? JCG. Common sense. To criticize or praise, to listen to all parties and to respect the majority. MS. What are your plans in the area of street markets? JCG. There is a tremendous demand for places, we have more than 8,500 unemployed and there are many people engaged in street vending, some because they have done it all their lives and others because they are seeking a livelihood. I would like to amend the Or-
“As far as the Public Roads area is concerned the Ordinances are very restricitve and we are modifying them”
dinances in this area to offer more facilities to the mijeño businessperson for it is he or she who has put me here. In addition, we are looking for a new location for the market in Las Lagunas, we have three possibilities; one of them in the area where the original flea market was eastablished which is currently in the Cerrillo de Las Mentiras- for which we have reached an agreement with El Corte Inglés. We are going to move it and give more life to the area because this activity attracts tourism. In the near future, we want to open the Calypso Market and even have two new markets, one craft and the other ecological, they will probably be located in Las Lagunas and perhaps one in Mijas village, which doesn’t have one. We can have one for each day of the week. It is a way of mobilizing the population in order to get to know their municipality as well as the tourist. MS. And what about the areas of Public Roads and Public Street Lighting? JCG. As far as Public Roads are concerned the Ordinances are very restrictive and we are modifying them. The streets come alive with spaces for commerce, but always in a regulated manner, we will emphasize the unifying aesthetic image and keep the quaintness of Andalusia; Our aim is that in two years
we are in the Michelin Guide, which means multiplying by 100, tourism in Mijas. We are also semi-pedestrianising La Cala, as a coastal tourism engine, and putting more value on the donkey-taxi, a service which was not previously regulated. And Las Lagunas, as a modern city, we want to provide it with parks and recreational areas. Public lighting: the most important action is remove the wiring in Mijas village, continuing this in Las Lagunas and La Cala. MS. Why a Statistics Department? JCG. It is a somewhat neglected subject that I know because of my profession. We want to be a municipality with a great population and we practically are, we have some 81,000 registered but there are about 40,000 people in the population that are not listed, especially of other nationalities who believe that if they do, they will lose their rights in their countries of origin, and it is quite the contrary, if they are on the census they have rights. There are many basic services such as postal delivery, public safety and health care that depend on the size of the population, and if you are not on the census you do not exist statistically, this in the long run leads to the collapse of health centres and less effective security, especially in a coastal
area where the population is multiplied by three in summer. For each of those registered the Councils receive 180 euros. European residents must renew every 5 years and nonCommunity every 2, we want to renew them automatically, if they vote. Losing population is losing money from the municipal coffers, hence we want official workers who can do the field work. We also want to redirect the terms, to put names on all the streets. IN THE FOREGROUND LEISURE TIME
Enjoying time with family and good friends. A BOOK
Any of Eduardo Punset. A MOVIE
’Midnight Express’. A PLACE IN MIJAS
San Antón, where I was brought up. A DESTINATION FOR LOSING ONESELF
There are many beautiful areas but if I have to ‘lose’ myself then a day in my town.