The PP and the far-right Vox have signed this Wednesday the petition to process a motion of no confidence against the mayor of Algeciras, José Ignacio Landaluce, denounced for alleged sexual assaults on two popular militants. The agreement proposes Jacinto Muñoz, until this Tuesday first deputy mayor, as a substitute. The provincial president of the PP of Cádiz, Bruno García, has confirmed the signatures and announced that the initiative will be registered in the City Council in the coming hours.
The twelve popular councilors who have left the municipal government and the four from Vox gather sixteen supports, above the fourteen necessary to reach an absolute majority in a plenary session of 27 members. The PP councilors have left their executive responsibilities, but retain their seats and can participate in the motion. Landaluce remains in office pending the processing and voting of the replacement.
The initiative comes after the mayor rejected the request for resignation from his own councilors and the provincial leadership. Landaluce, who left the PP militancy in December 2025, remains clinging to the Mayor's Office, which he has occupied since 2011. His refusal has led the popular party to activate the replacement through a plenary majority, while he tries to maintain municipal management with the three councilors who remain by his side.
Landaluce remains in office
The mayor has denied the reported facts and assures that he will demonstrate "the truth through legal channels". In a video disseminated on his social networks, he stated that he learned of the complaints through the press and demanded that his presumption of innocence be respected. "They want my political death, they want my social death," he affirmed to explain the pressure he is receiving.
Despite losing the support of most of his team, Landaluce signed this midday the decrees to reorganize the deputy mayoralties and the Local Government Board. Yessica Rodríguez becomes first deputy mayor; Patricia Bueno, second, and Vicente Palomares, third. The mayor maintains the municipal powers he has assumed after the departure of the other twelve councilors.
The provincial leadership of the PP has based its decision on the testimonies of the two complainants. Bruno García defended on Monday that respect for the presumption of innocence must be accompanied by the assumption of political responsibilities. "As a party, we must take and assume responsibilities," he stated, after listening to the women who have taken the step to denounce the mayor.
The president of the Junta de Andalucía and of the Andalusian PP, Juanma Moreno, has also demanded his resignation and announced this Wednesday a motion "immediately" if Landaluce maintains his refusal. Moreno explained that the provincial leadership acts in accordance with the autonomous one and that twelve of the councilors have followed the party's guidelines. The signing of the initiative concretizes that step after the mayor ignored the requests for his departure.
Jacinto Muñoz, candidate for the replacement
The signatories have chosen Jacinto Muñoz as candidate for Mayor. The popular leader was first deputy mayor and responsible for Citizen Security, Urban Mobility, and Personnel until his departure from the local government. He also presides over the PP of Algeciras and is vice president of the Diputación de Cádiz. Bruno García highlighted his experience and trajectory, as well as his ability to lead a team.
The PSOE, which has seven councilors, has reiterated its offer of votes to facilitate Landaluce's replacement. The support gathered by PP and Vox allows reaching the necessary majority for the motion. Santiago Abascal's party has announced that it will support the replacement without entering the municipal government or demanding compensation. If this approach is maintained, Muñoz would assume management with the twelve popular councilors and would have to seek agreements in the plenary session.
The current crisis has worsened with the complaints of the two militants, after a previous complaint that was dismissed. The determination of possible criminal responsibilities corresponds to Justice. In the City Council, the rupture affects political trust and Landaluce's ability to continue governing. The mayor has also announced his intention to run again in the municipal elections of May 2027, although the motion could end his time at the head of the Consistory sooner.
The registration of the initiative will set the calendar for the handover. The Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime establishes that, once the documentation has been submitted in the required terms, the plenary session is automatically convened for 12:00 p.m. on the tenth business day following registration. It will be in that session where the councilors debate and vote on the dismissal of Landaluce and the election of Jacinto Muñoz.
