A Christmas raffle held in Úbeda attracts all the attention, and not precisely because of the prize itself. Rather, it has been the way in which this game has been celebrated and the way in which the names of the winners were revealed, by the Councilor for Commerce, Industry and Crafts, José Luis Madueño, which has raised all suspicion. Neighbors of this town in Jaén and the opposition of the council, represented by the PP, call this raffle nonsense and ask the PSOE, the local government party, for explanations for the way of proceeding of the mayor, who is seen in a recording getting involved He put his hand in one of his pockets before taking out one of the winning tickets.
It was a small piece of crumpled paper, unlike the rest, that Madueño allegedly inserted into the urn and that named Carmen Martínez Pérez, a relative of the Councilor for Urban Planning, Works and the Environment of Úbeda, as the winner and, according to local media, also awarded last year. The controversy continues to grow and the video of the contest, which is still published on the city council’s Facebook profile, has gone viral and is the subject of several memes.
The prize of the raffle, held on December 26, was intended to distribute 550 euros to two neighbors so that they could make their purchases at the city’s Food Market, but suspicion and doubts have meant that it continues to be in the news in the middle of the year. month of January.
So much so that the PP of Jaén, with Erik Domínguez as president of the party in Jaén, announced on January 11 that they were going to demand an extraordinary plenary session where the Urban Planning councilor would explain what had happened, since they announced that they were going to ask for his resignation. It is “a new trick and trick of the PSOE to benefit someone like-minded,” explained the popular deputy in the Andalusian Parliament. According to Domínguez, if the councilor does not leave his position, the PP will choose to request the resignation of the mayor of Úbeda, Antonia Olivares Martínez, as head of the PSOE municipal group.
For its part, the city council defended itself against these attacks by pointing out that these accusations were “flatly false.” “We understand that the controversy that arose from this draw and some of the comments that do not conform to the reality of the facts, have the sole purpose of damaging the image of the Councilor for Commerce, Industry and Crafts and that of the Councilor for Urban Planning, Works and Environment, two public officials of the Úbeda City Council who maintain a track record in the Ubeda City Council that is totally commendable, honorable, committed and with a clear vocation for public service, which amply supports them,” the local government stated in a statement. On the other hand, they advanced that they had taken legal measures for these accusations and called the members of the PP “opportunists” for echoing this “false controversy” and trying to expand it to obtain political gain.
