The political crisis of Formentera reaches its point of no return with the official presentation of a motion of censure that seeks to remove the current president of the Consell, Lorenzo Cordoba. The measure, backed by 15 councilors, will be debated in an extraordinary plenary session on December 27, where Óscar Portas Juan is the candidate to be elected as the new leader of the institution. The political group Sa Unió de Formentera (PP-Compromís) has sent late on Thursday the proposal of the motion of censure signed by all the councilors with acta in force of the three groups. It details the reasons that have led the three groups to present a motion of censure against the president of the Consell Insular, Lorenzo Córdoba Marí. According to the document, this measure responds to the “total paralysis of the institution” and the “absolute lack of confidence” in the president, whom they accuse of governing unilaterally for months.
The signatories of the motion
The motion of censure, presented on December 12, has the support of 15 councilors of the Consell Insular de Formentera: Verónica Castelló Pérez, Javier Serra Torres, Óscar Portas Juan, Maria Cristina Costa Juan, Artal Francesc Mayans García, Hugo Martínez Bermúdez, Eva María Nieto Arribas, Alejandra Ferrer Kirschbaum, Rafael González Ribas, Aleida Escandell Wescott, Josep Marí Mayans, Adan Ferrer Ribas, Ana Juan Torres, Rafael Ramírez Gutiérrez and Esteve Portas Mayans. These representatives, from the political groups Sa Unió (PP-Compromís), Gent per Formentera (GxF) and PSIB-PSOE, add up to an absolute majority that guarantees the viability of the motion. In the agreement, the three groups stress that Cordoba was “expelled from the coalition” in January 2024, an unprecedented fact that left him in the condition of conseller no adscrito, a figure that, they emphasize, “lacks support to form the basic organs of the Consell, such as the board of government and the vice presidencies.” The resignation of Alcaraz had been the first step to move forward with the dismissal of the president of the Consell Insular de Formentera. However, it remained to define who would be his replacement: Sa Unió had postulated Verónica Castelló, while the left-wing groups wanted a name from Compromís.
An unprecedented institutional crisis
The motion states that the situation worsened after some decisions of the president, including the awarding of “beach concessions against technical and political criteria” and the withdrawal of powers to other councilors of the coalition, in relation to the “unilateral” dismissal of José Manuel Alcaraz. These actions, “broke the balance necessary for the collegial management of the administration”. The group also mentions that, in June 2024, the remaining councilors of the government team resigned from their functions. Since then, the Consell has operated without the necessary governing bodies, something that, in the words of Sa Unió, “is contrary to the Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands and Law 4/2022 of Consells Insulars”.
The Ethics Commission report, the trigger
The motion highlights that the report of the Ethics Commission, published in October 2024, was key to push the censure motion. According to this report, “Córdoba’s management has configured the Consell as a unipersonal institution, contrary to the principles of political pluralism and collegiality”. The text adds that Cordoba tried to block the publication of the report and canceled an ordinary plenary session in October, replacing it with an urgent session, something that they qualify as “a maneuver contrary to transparency and the general interest”.
December 27, key date
The extraordinary plenary session to debate the motion of censure will be held on December 27, 2024, as established by current legislation. The motion will be successful and will allow the beginning of a new era for Formentera.
