The Almuñécar opposition party, IU, has proposed that steps should be taken to turn La Herradura into a self-governing entity.

They consider that this has been a historic demand of the village and that things would work better if they were not “centralized” in Almuñécar.

The term for this semi-independence is an ELA (Entidad Local Autónoma). This type of administration has a chairman who acts as a mayor and a neighbourhood council, whose members cannot be two or less, or more than one third of the number of councillors in the parent municipality.

One of the responsibilities ceded by the parent Town Hall to the ELA council is the issuing of building licences.

There are other ELA’s in the province: Carchuna-Calahonda, belonged to the municipality of Motril, and El Turro, which belonged to the municipality of Cacín. The latter is the example that the IU has based their idea on.

IU want a commission to be set up with one member of each party on the board to work out the details and proposals to bring this semi-indepence about.

Although the Almuñécar Town Council might give it’s approval of the proposal, it is the Junta de Andalucía who ‘cuts the cod,’ as the Spanish say; who has the last say.

Editorial comment: La Herradura cannot obtain full independence; i.e., be a municipality in its own right, primarily because the urban areas of the village and Almuñécar are too close together – there has to be a green-belt separation. The other reason is because the population is not big enough.

So, an ELA is the next best thing, at least in the eyes of those that want to see an independent La Herradura. Others consider that Spain, with its 8,000-odd municipalities, should be cutting back not creating more.

(News: Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)