The return of Matías González Cañón to the municipal group of the PP
Recently, the Galician Popular Party has reinstated Matías González Cañón, who was convicted in 2011 for sexist violence against his ex-partner, to its municipal group in A Illa de Arousa (Pontevedra). A few days before the municipal elections of May 28, 2023, it was reported that González Cañón, the popular candidate in that municipality, had received a sentence of 25 days of community work for attacking his ex-partner. Although the PP claimed to have asked him to resign from leading the lists, he refused. Alfonso Rueda, in May of last year, publicly committed that, regardless of the outcome of the elections, González Cañón would not be part of the municipal group.
Failure to fulfill the commitment
However, this commitment has not been fulfilled even for a year. According to the newspaper La Voz de Galicia, the PP of A Illa requested the inclusion of González Cañón in its group, which was accepted at the provincial level and supported both by the regional leadership and by arguments that highlight his supposed exemplarity and commitment against the sexist violence. Despite the conviction and the previous commitment, the party justified its decision by serving the sentence, a fine and the prohibition of communicating with the victim, in addition to highlighting González Cañón’s qualities as an impeccable person.
Reactions and consequences
Before the municipal elections, the Galician PP argued that it could not do anything about the candidate’s refusal to withdraw from the list, since it had already been proclaimed. When the case became known, Alfonso Rueda claimed to be unaware of the conviction until it was published by a media outlet, and that the party had reacted quickly by asking his candidate in A Illa to leave her position. However, the party decided not to act against the rest of the members of the list, claiming that the sentence only affected one person and not the rest of the group.
After the municipal elections, the PP of A Illa improved its previous result, going from four to five councillors. Despite this, González Cañón did not join the municipal group of the popular and until now appeared as a non-attached councilor. However, the five councilors are not enough to govern in the municipality, where there is currently an agreement between PSOE and BNG, adding six councilors.
Repercussions and criticism
The reintegration of González Cañón has generated criticism from the opposition, especially for the reorganization of the Xunta’s organizational chart in terms of the fight against machismo. This reorganization has been questioned by the BNG and the PSdeG, who consider that equality policies have been diluted. For her part, the general secretary of the PPdeG has defended the reorganization, arguing that it is a strong bet to focus on the real problems of society.
