The PP returns to govern Lugo after a legislature marked by the death of three socialist councilors and a turncoat councilor from the PSOE

The Popular Party recovers this Thursday the mayoralty of Lugo after registering an unprecedented motion of no confidence in the recent democratic history of the city. The operation will allow Elena Candia to become the fourth mayor of the current term thanks to the decisive support of María Reigosa, a non-attached councilwoman who left the PSOE after accessing the municipal seat following the death of a party colleague. With their 13 votes, PP and Reigosa achieve the absolute majority necessary to dislodge the socialist government and put an end to 27 consecutive years of PSOE power in the Lucense capital.

The motion, registered last April 22, culminates months of growing political tension and internal movements within the municipal corporation. Reigosa confirmed this same week that he will support Candia because he “trusts” in the PP's project for the city. The popular leader, lawyer and provincial president of the party, will automatically have to leave her position as first vice-president of the Parlamento de Galicia if she finally assumes the mayoralty.

Beyond the specific case of Lugo, the operation has a strong political impact in Galicia. It is the fourteenth motion of no confidence registered in Galician town halls since the municipal elections of 2023 and the first to succeed in one of the seven major Galician cities since 1991. The phenomenon has intensified after a ruling by the Constitutional Court in June 2025 that eliminated the legal restrictions that hindered motions supported by turncoat councilors.

The main beneficiary of this new scenario has been the PP, which already adds nine mayoralties obtained through no-confidence motions in the current term if Lugo is included. Municipalities like Ribeira, Viveiro, Forcarei or Fisterra have changed government through similar operations. In contrast, the PSOE only achieved two mayoralties by this route, in Noia and Viana do Bolo, reflecting a significant change in political balance in numerous Galician town councils.

The legislature in Lugo has been marked by enormous institutional instability. The socialist Lara Méndez left the mayor's office in 2024 to join the regional lists of the PSdeG. Her successor, Paula Alvarellos, died suddenly after suffering a heart attack, which led Miguel Fernández to assume the staff of command in March 2025. With the arrival of Candia, Lugo will have had four different mayors in barely two years, an unprecedented situation in the city.

The role of María Reigosa has been decisive in this political change. After assuming responsibilities in the area of Rural Environment, the discrepancies with the socialist group were increasing until definitively breaking with the party. Her frequent support for PP initiatives in municipal plenary sessions fueled for months rumors about a possible motion of no confidence. The final decision has provoked a strong political challenge and citizen protests driven by the PSOE and the BNG, while Reigosa even announced legal actions for the insults received in the last municipal debates.