The until now spokesperson for the popular group in the Corts Valencianes and mayor of Finestrat, Juan Francisco Pérez Llorcawill be the eighth president of the Generalitat Valenciana in democracy. However, his appointment has not come from the will of the Valencian people expressed in an election, but from the support of the extreme right of Vox for a PP that has supported each and every one of its postulates in the investiture plenary session that was held this Thursday from 11:00 a.m. in the Corts Valencianes. A situation that is caused by the resignation of Carlos Mazón on November 3 as a result of his management of the dana.
The Vox spokesperson in the Valencian Courts, José María Llanos, confirmed during the investiture debate that he will support Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca as president of the Generalitat Valenciana: “We will support his investiture,” he said.
There are two precedents of presidents invested with the legislature in progress due to resignations of those elected in the elections, in both cases from the PP: José Luis Olivas in 2002, after the departure of Eduardo Zaplana as Minister of Labor, and Alberto Fabra, after the resignation of Camps in 2011 due to the suit case linked to the ‘Gürtel’ plot, of which he was declared “not guilty.”
Finally Pérez Llorca’s speech has convinced those of Santiago Abascal that they have thus avoided the uncertainty of holding a second vote and, if things do not go too wrong, regional elections. This scenario was the least desired, especially by the PP, since it would have meant putting the Government of the Valencian Community at risk.
As the ultras had already been warning and in the absence of knowing the fine print, the pact will involve assuming the harshest postulates of the extreme right regarding immigration and climate denialismwhen the European PP itself, led by the President of the Commission, Úrsula Von der Leyen, has been supporting and promoting the European Green Deal and Agenda 2030.
In his speech, Pérez Llorca assured that “the European Green Deal is the greatest threat to our farmers” and that it has been “imposed by European office elites”, when the reality is that it was agreed upon by the European PP itself with the support of the socialists in Brussels. Regarding immigration, he stated that they will work “with formulas so that minors return to their families and have a chance for the future with policies based on legality.”
Pérez Llorca, a ‘mazonista’ who is not passing through
‘Mazonism’ once again won a battle against the national leadership of the PP. Who knows if it will be the last. After days of indecision, the leadership headed by Alberto Núñez Feijóo opted for continuity and appointed Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca, Juanfran for everyone who approaches the Corts, successor of Carlos Mazón to occupy the Presidency of the Generalitat Valenciana. Feijóo’s number one candidate was always the mayor of València, María José Catalá, but her appointment at this time could be more counterproductive since it would have meant emptying the City Hall’s engine room, that is, her circle of trust, to take her to the Palau de la Generalitat at a time of wear and tear as a result of the dana. The national president of the PP finally chose to save that bullet for a better occasion, perhaps in view of the next elections scheduled for two years from now.
However, although he publicly denies it, Pérez Llorca has no idea of being a transitional president. Anyone who knows him knows that he will try to convince the heavyweights of the party and the militancy to run as a candidate in the next elections if the polls are even remotely favorable. For now, as was made visible in the Benidorm conclave after Mazón’s resignation, he would have the support of the three provincial presidents. After that meeting, the head of the Valencia Provincial Council, Vicent Mompó, was also discussed as a possible candidate. But first the regional congress of the popular parties must be held, to which former president Francisco Camps has already announced that he will present himself as a candidate with a project to lead the party. It remains to be seen what both Pérez Llorca and Catalá will do. Or even Genoa to avoid a fratricidal confrontation between the popular Valencians.
Pérez Llorca (Finestrat, Alicante, 1976) is a discreet, close man. 24 hours before his appointment, he assured that no one had informed him that he was the candidate. That he is mayor of Finestrat and owes it to his neighbors. Mayor who holds three terms, he began to grow in municipal politics, in a small municipality in the shadow of Benidorm. In 2015 he was elected provincial deputy in Alicante, a position he renewed in 2019. Under the leadership of Carlos Mazón, his career began to grow rapidly: he was named provincial coordinator in Alicante, then deputy secretary of organization of the PPCV. With the PP’s electoral leap in the 2023 regional elections, he became general secretary of the party and, in 2024, with the remodeling of the Consell, he assumed the position of spokesperson for the popular group in the Valencian Cortes. He owes his growth to Mazón.
