ARMILLA (GRANADA), 22 (EUROPA PRESS)
The PSOE of Andalusia formally inaugurates this Saturday, February 22, its XV Regional Congress, which will take place over the weekend in Armilla (Granada) under the slogan ‘Andalucia first’, and which will serve to elect the new Regional Executive Committee led by Maria Jesus Montero, who in January replaced Juan Espadas as the head of the General Secretariat of the socialist federation with the most members in Spain.
Former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will accompany Maria Jesus Montero at the official opening of the XV Congress of the PSOE-A, scheduled for 10:00 am and where the general secretaries of the CCOO-A and UGT-A unions –Nuria López and Óskar Martín, respectively–; the mayor of Armilla, Dolores Cañavate, and the Secretary of Autonomous Policy of the PSOE and former President of the Extremadura Regional Government, Guillermo Fernández Vara, are also expected to speak.
Around 500 delegates from the eight Andalusian provinces will gather at this congress, with an additional 3,000 people registered, as highlighted on Friday during a technical visit to the Armilla Trade Fair (Fermasa), the venue for the congress, by the spokesperson of the PSOE-A, María Márquez, who emphasized that Andalusian socialists approach this meeting «convinced» that 2026 — when the next regional elections are scheduled — will be «the year they will regain the Presidency of the Junta» led by Maria Jesús Montero.
After the official opening ceremony, the work commissions of the XV Congress will be established starting at 2:00 pm, and four ‘agoras’ will take place in the afternoon.
The first one, titled ‘Defending self-government, ahead’, is scheduled for 4:00 pm and will feature the participation of former Andalusian President and former Secretary General of the PSOE-A, Manuel Chaves; the President of the Council of State and former Vice President of the Government, Carmen Calvo, and the President of the PSOE-A, Manuel Pezzi.
At 5:00 pm, the ‘Municipalism and housing in Andalusia, ahead’ agora will bring together the Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez; four socialist mayors –the mayors of Armilla, San Fernando (Cadiz) and Alcalá de Guadaíra (Seville), Dolores Cañavate, Patricia Cavada, and Ana Isabel Jiménez, respectively, and the mayor of Jaén, Julio Millán–; and the national deputy for Malaga and socialist spokesperson in the Torrox City Council, Mari Nieves Ramírez.
The third agora of Saturday afternoon –scheduled for 6:30 pm– is titled ‘In Europe and Andalusia, feminism and freedom, ahead’–, and will feature the participation of the Secretary of Equality of the Federal Executive Committee of the PSOE and Government Delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, and the Andalusian socialist MEP Lina Gálvez.
Finally, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas; the Secretary General of the Union of Small Farmers (UPA), Cristóbal Cano, and the socialist MEP Cristina Maestre will participate from 7:30 pm in the last agora of the day, titled ‘In Europe, agricultural and fishing Andalusia, ahead’.
SUNDAY, VOTING FOR THE NEW LEADERSHIP
A musical performance by The Freedom Band will close the Saturday session of the XV Congress of the PSOE-A, which will resume on Sunday from 8:00 am with the voting for the composition of the new Regional Executive Committee, as well as the other regional bodies of the Andalusian socialist federation and members of the Federal Committee of the PSOE.
Finally, the closing ceremony of the XV Congress of the PSOE-A is scheduled to start at 10:30 am on Sunday, with speeches from the new Secretary General, María Jesús Montero, and the President of the Government and leader of the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez. The conference is expected to conclude at 1:00 pm on Sunday.
A MANIFESTO IN DEFENSE OF CULTURE TO KICK OFF
Previously, on Friday, some initial activities were held as part of this fifteenth congress of the Andalusian socialists, such as the reading of a manifesto in defense of Andalusian culture by the Director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero, accompanied by María Jesús Montero.
This event took place in the capital of Granada, with a backdrop of the Alhambra, while at Fermasa an agora titled ‘Infrastructure, productive fabric, and young Andalusian talent, ahead’ was held, with the participation of the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente.