The PSOE brings a citizen consultation on statues, the port tower and La Merced to the plenary session
The socialist municipal group presents on Thursday, September 24, the motion 'Málaga Decide' so that residents can vote on projects such as the Repsol urban forest or the opening of Plaza de la Merced.
Redacción · Published on September 18, 2026
The Socialist municipal group at the Ayuntamiento de Málaga will bring to the ordinary plenary session on Thursday, September 24 a motion to create a citizen participation procedure called 'Málaga Decide'. According to its promoters, the goal is for the people of Málaga to be able to vote directly on major city projects, such as the future of the Venus and Neptuno statues at the port, the skyscraper planned for the Dique de Levante, the urban forest on the Repsol grounds, and the opening of Plaza de la Merced.
The motion, signed by councillor Rosa del Mar Rodríguez, head of Participación for the PSOE, seeks for these consultations to have institutional status and not depend, according to Socialist spokesman Mariano Ruiz Araujo, on the will of the mayor or the government team.
Ruiz Araujo has criticized what he considers unequal treatment by the mayor regarding citizen mobilizations. According to the spokesman, the mayor has defended the permanence of the port sculptures relying on 12,000 signatures provided by the very author of the works, while, he claims, he has ignored the more than 41,000 residents who are asking for an urban forest on the Repsol grounds and the 16,000 who mobilized against the port tower.
Rodríguez has explained that Andalusian legislation allows promoting a citizen consultation with the backing of about 21,000 signatures in a city the size of Málaga. According to the councillor, what the PSOE is asking is for the Ayuntamiento to set up a public and transparent channel to process these initiatives, without it depending on political criteria.
The councillor has added that the model would also extend to the districts, for decisions affecting specific neighborhoods. According to Rodríguez, the consultations must include neutral and accessible information, and include in-person channels that avoid the digital divide, so that older people, people with disabilities, and other groups can participate on equal terms.
The proposal will be debated at the ordinary plenary session on Thursday, September 24 at the Ayuntamiento de Málaga.
The motion, signed by councillor Rosa del Mar Rodríguez, head of Participación for the PSOE, seeks for these consultations to have institutional status and not depend, according to Socialist spokesman Mariano Ruiz Araujo, on the will of the mayor or the government team.
Ruiz Araujo has criticized what he considers unequal treatment by the mayor regarding citizen mobilizations. According to the spokesman, the mayor has defended the permanence of the port sculptures relying on 12,000 signatures provided by the very author of the works, while, he claims, he has ignored the more than 41,000 residents who are asking for an urban forest on the Repsol grounds and the 16,000 who mobilized against the port tower.
Rodríguez has explained that Andalusian legislation allows promoting a citizen consultation with the backing of about 21,000 signatures in a city the size of Málaga. According to the councillor, what the PSOE is asking is for the Ayuntamiento to set up a public and transparent channel to process these initiatives, without it depending on political criteria.
The councillor has added that the model would also extend to the districts, for decisions affecting specific neighborhoods. According to Rodríguez, the consultations must include neutral and accessible information, and include in-person channels that avoid the digital divide, so that older people, people with disabilities, and other groups can participate on equal terms.
The proposal will be debated at the ordinary plenary session on Thursday, September 24 at the Ayuntamiento de Málaga.