Which brings us on to Benny… Judicially speaking; he has kicked some serious arse. Without doubt, 2010 has been a triumphant year for Juan Carlos Benavides in the law courts, but for all of his victories, as I write this we are only in February with 10 months left to go before 2010 he can proclaim Annus Mirabilis.
A whole swarm of the Junta’s cases against his urban development deeds have crashed to the floor, partly through the Junta’s own ineptitude (presenting the necessary legal documentation outside the maximum time limit, for example.)
On a personal level for him, where he faced prison sentences, even he was worried over the forced TV closure case, for which he was finally acquitted. It is important to note, however, in this particular case, it was proved that the TV station was closed illegally – what was not proved was that he was behind it.
You will also remember that the Mayor walked away from a multi-million compensation condemnation, after an 18-year legal wrangle. So convinced was he that he would end up having to pay it, he allegedly (according to the Public Prosecutor) entered into fraudulent bankruptcy, the consequences of which will eventually be decided before a Judge. Also still outstanding is the case over the La Herradura Sports Centre that was built on green-belt land – this could also cost him his mayoralty.
The Mayor claims that it is all a conspiracy that goes back to when he was the Provincial Secretary of the PSOE, and that his ex-party are determined to take from him via the law courts what they are incapable of obtaining through the voting urns. This was a legal argument used by his defence lawyers, by the way, presenting their client as a victim of political persecution.
But all this costs money to the taxpayer. During 2008 the Town Hall blew 300,000 euros in legal expenses and a further 102,000 in compensation. The previous year legal expenses reached 291,000 and it certainly doesn’t look as if 2010 will be any cheaper.
As for the opposition parties, greeted by this unwelcome news of Benavides Invictus, both the PSOE and PP quickly announced that they respect the judge’s decision – what their comments might be behind closed doors, concerning the Judge is another matter – perhaps the Judges’ mother might be mentioned…
However one political opponent is more outspoken and less politically correct in his evaluation of the court finding: Fermín Tejero, leader of the IU. “That they should acquit him does not mean that he is not guilty,” he said – and he couldn’t have expressed himself more clearly, could he. Actually, he could, in fact, and did: he considered the finding over the forced closure of the TV station to be “a piss take against common sense.”
Sr. Tejero explained the reasoning behind his words, thus: “The evidence very clear. The Town Hall closed the TV station down by force [the
Judge does not dispute this] and yet nobody is guilty? This sentence is profoundly disappointing because it leaves the citizenship defenceless before the abuse of power,” he said. He concluded by stating, “You only have to look at the programming records of the TV station following Benavides coup and you can see that it is completely at his service. We, in the IU, ask people not to confuse acquittal with innocence,” meaning that guilt could not be proved, but neither his innocence.
Summing up, the Mayor’s next appointments are this summer; in June and July and if his fortune holds, then he will be standing for re-election in May 2011. Will he be able to pull it off?
Napoleon was at his finest during 1814 when he took on the armies of four powerful, invading nations: Russia, Prussia, Austria and Great Britain. He demonstrated again the talent of that young general, who with barefooted soldiers crushed the arrogant armies of empires; an image far removed from an unimaginative emperor at the head of the world’s largest-ever army of the time (1812) Yet for all his brilliant general-ship as his enemies closed in 1814, he and his adversaries knew that it was only a matter of time before either his enemies defeated him or his people deserted him – in the end it was the latter and he was exiled to Elba.