Poll: Majority in Cartagena oppose censure motion against Mayor Noelia Arroyo

La Verdad published a CEMOP flash poll on May 24 saying 56% of Cartagena residents reject the censure motion filed against Mayor Noelia Arroyo, the Partido Popular mayor whose coalition lost its majority this month. The poll landed six days after Movimiento Ciudadano, the PSOE and Sí Cartagena registered the motion with support from two former Vox councillors. The vote, if it passes, would remove Arroyo and install Movimiento Ciudadano leader Jesús Giménez Gallo as mayor on June 2. The survey adds a new public-opinion measure to a dispute that has already redrawn alliances inside Cartagena’s 27-seat council. ### How did Cartagena get to a censure vote against Noelia Arroyo? May 18 was the day Movimiento Ciudadano, the PSOE and Sí Cartagena registered the motion of censure against Arroyo. The initiative also relies on the backing of Diego Salinas and Beatriz Sánchez del Álamo, two councillors who left Vox and now sit as non-attached members, giving the anti-government bloc the numbers to reach an absolute majority in the chamber. (laverdad.es) Cartagena’s council has 27 seats, with 14 needed for a majority. El País reported the chamber elected in this term was split among PP with 10 seats, Movimiento Ciudadano with 8, PSOE with 4, Vox with 4 and Sí Cartagena with 1; after the break with Vox, Arroyo’s government was left exposed. (infobae.com) May 14 was a key turning point in the arithmetic. elDiario.es reported that Salinas resigned from the government, leaving the PP-led executive with 13 councillors against 14 in the opposition and opening, in its words, a real path to a censure motion if opponents coordinated. (elpais.com) ### What exactly did the new poll say? La Verdad said on May 24 that 56% of Cartagena residents reject the motion of censure against Arroyo. The newspaper described the study as a “flash” poll by CEMOP, the Centro de Estudios Murciano de Opinión Pública. The same La Verdad report said two out of three respondents attributed the motion to partisan calculations or personal grudges. (eldiario.es) That finding tracks with Arroyo’s own public argument since the motion was filed, though the poll result is presented by the newspaper as survey data rather than as a party claim. La Verdad also reported separately that only 23% of respondents said they had confidence in Giménez Gallo, the Movimiento Ciudadano leader named in the motion as the proposed replacement for Arroyo. (laverdad.es) The newspaper surfaced both findings on its Cartagena coverage page on May 24. ### What are the motion’s backers saying? Jesús Giménez Gallo said on May 19 that the motion “no supone ninguna interinidad” and instead brings forward “algo que iba a suceder en las urnas en un año,” according to EFE. (laverdad.es) Movimiento Ciudadano, PSOE and Sí Cartagena said they were acting to end what they called drift and lack of project in the current administration. (laverdad.es) The opposition’s case rests on the breakdown of the PP-Vox governing arrangement. El País and other Spanish outlets tied that rupture to the wider internal crisis in Vox in the Murcia region, which preceded the departures of Salinas and Sánchez del Álamo from the party. (efe.com) ### How has Arroyo responded? Noelia Arroyo said the operation answered to “intereses partidistas y personales” rather than to a record of mismanagement, according to La Opinión de Murcia and RTVE’s Murcia news bulletin. COPE reported on May 21 that Arroyo also said she would run again even if the motion succeeds. (elpais.com) The Cartagena city website still lists Arroyo as mayor and identifies her as a Partido Popular councillor. Her official profile says she was born in Cartagena in 1979 and previously served in the regional government and as mayor during the 2021-2023 term. ### What happens on June 2? June 2 at 12:00 p.m. is the scheduled time for the debate and vote on the motion in Cartagena’s council chamber, according to local reporting surfaced by MSN from Europa Press and confirmed by El País’ report that the handover would occur that day if there are no surprises. (laopiniondemurcia.es) If the motion passes, Giménez Gallo would take office with the backing of Movimiento Ciudadano, PSOE, Sí Cartagena and the two non-attached former Vox councillors. (cartagena.es) (msn.com)