Isabel Espada and José Luis Rodríguez are a married couple running for the Mayorship of the small municipality of Las Inviernas, both on the PSOE list. «We support each other, but political problems do not go away at home. We don’t argue about politics or football,» they say.
Isabel is currently the socialist mayor, and her husband, now a fellow candidate, is listed as an independent. He is also a councillor in the City Hall, although in the previous elections, he ran on the Popular Party list and still supported his wife to obtain the mayoralty.
In fact, although Isabel is the mayor, her husband José Luis has been the «shadow mayor» throughout this term, something she admits herself. For this reason, she says she is willing to vote for her husband as mayor, just as he did in reverse in 2019.
In the last municipal elections, José Luis ran on the PP lists, although also as an independent, but decided to vote for Isabel, who was running for the PSOE. He did so because he believed that the town would achieve much more from the institutions if they had a mayor from the same political party as the Provincial Council and the Regional Government.
And although that decision did not go down well with some of the town’s residents, now, José Luis has decided to run for the PSOE list, although also as an independent, a decision motivated by the desire to «keep doing things for his town,» he says.
And although his decision to vote for his wife at the time brought him some displeasure and anger from some of the townspeople, he does not regret it because he did it because «he wanted what was best for the town.» «I gave my wife my vote, not a stranger. If it had been someone from outside the PSOE, I wouldn’t have given it to them,» he asserts.
That is how José Luis defends himself, hoping that the town will understand that many improvements have been made in the last four years, and they want to continue them, such as the launching of sports courts for young people.
For now, with almost this term over, issues related to the day-to-day life of the town have not led to their divorce. «We don’t argue about politics or football at home,» Isabel insists, smiling and stressing that if they obtain the majority, her vote will be for her husband. «Last time, he gave it to me, and now I would give it to him,» she says.
«If we both get elected, I imagine that this time I will be the mayor because we will do it that way,» warns José Luis, not knowing what will happen on May 28th.
In any case, according to José Luis, the town has not done badly in the last four years with the PSOE because «they have been active, and aid has been given to the towns.»
