Lázaro Gutiérrez was angry about the street works that were to commence on his street… so he threatened to set fire to himself. This occurred in the Los Santos area of Las Lagunas de Mijas.

Sr. Gutiérrez said that his radical action was a “desperate response to the lack of collaboration from the Town Hall.”

Calle Mateos (next to the Centro de Salud) was earmarked for an overhaul a few days previously but it wasn’t just Lázaro that was against the plan, but just about everybody on the said street.

The Town Hall explained that they were obligated to bring into line the width of the pavements to the specifications laid down in the local by-laws – they should be at least 1.5 metres wide.

To do that, the available parking would have to go. The locals, however, demanded that the Town Hall found an alternative to eliminating parking along the street.

Then came the day when work would begin without any compromise from the Town Hall, so Lázaro decided to do “whatever was necessary,” to stop the process.

According to witnesses, around 09.10h, there were still plenty of cars parked on the street, despite notification to remove them. Then, through the crowd of angry car owners strode Lázaro Gutiérrez, carrying a container of petrol in one hand and a cigarette lighter in the other.

And there, with the neighbours, Guardia Civil and municipal police gawking at him, he doused himself with petrol and then got into his car… only to be joined by his wife moments later.

Needless to say, Lázaro never used his lighter, not even after an hour of negotiations with the police and Town Council representatives.

Finally, he agreed to get out of the car and was promptly arrested, and charged with creating a public disturbance (public disappointed, more like it).

By 13.00h he was back on the street, promising to do it again, “because it’s no use collecting signatures,” he said.

Meanwhile, back at the Town Hall, the Mayor, Ángel Nozal, met with angry locals, where he promised that the work would go ahead, but without removing the parking spaces.

Editorial comment: Lázaro translates for Lazarus, so he must have immediately ruled out a sit in, as everybody would be shouting, “Levántate, Lazaro!”

(News: Mijas, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)