José Velez, Mayor of Calasparra from 2014 to 2020, and previously Deputy Mayor under the then Mayor, Jesus Navarro, has withdrawn from the PSOE Primaries as a candidate for re-election as the Secretary General of the PSOE in the Murcia region.
He gave up his position as Mayor of Calasparra to stand as a candidate for the Government Delegate in Murcia. He held this post until 2023 and in 2021 stood as a candidate for the post of Secretary General of the PSOE in Murcia and was elected.
José Velez has always been a staunch supporter of the current President of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, from the time Sanchez resigned from Congress and stood in the Primaries as Leader of the national PSOE. They have appeared together at several political rallies in Calasparra.
Velez announced his decision to withdraw as a candidate last night after meeting with the executive of the national Committee of the PSOE.
In an open letter to the regional association of the PSOE he attributed his decision to being accused in a pending legal case concerning «irregularities in contracts for the Bull Ring» during the time he was Mayor of Calasparra. He has appealed to the Provincial Audience to reject the case and exclude him from the proceedings. This appeal remains pending.
He accuses the Partido Popular, the complainant in the case, to secure through the courts a victory they were unable to achieve in the local elections of Calasparra.
He denies the «irregularities» and underlines «the dozens of reports, complaints and appeals» brought by the PP in the past that have failed in the courts.
In the letter to his supporters says he has reflected profoundly on the situation of the PSOE in the Murcia region and considers it is the adequate moment to step aside for a new leader who can drive the party to a new era. His aim, he continues, is to strengthen the organisation and, in this crucial moment, avoid internal divisions that have marked the party in the past.
Four candidates have announced their intention to stand against Velez in the Primaries.
Jose Velez was born in Calasparra in 1966. He studied Labour Relations and Human Resources at the Universidad of Murcia and is a member of the College of Social Graduates of Murcia. He is a member of the Service Management of Health in the region.
In 1999 he was elected as a local counciller for the PSOE in Calasparra and as Mayor in 2020.
He was elected Secretarty Geneneral of the regional PSOE in 2021 with 81.7% of the vote.
The Partido Popular is the oposition party in Calasparra.
