Juan Antonio Morales (politician)

Juan Antonio Morales Álvarez (born 13 October 1970)[1] is a Spanish politician.

Biography

Born in Badajoz, Extremadura, Morales was the mayor of Lobón in the Province of Badajoz from 1995 to 2012.[2] He was a member of the provincial deputation from 1999 to 2011, when he was elected to the Assembly of Extremadura.[1] He attended an event on 2 December 2016 – Francisco Franco's birthday – in which he received an award from the Franco Foundation for defending the dictator's memory.[3]

In October 2014, Morales received two convictions. He had defamed a Lobón councillor by falsely accusing her of selling drugs to children, and had committed a public order offence at a council meeting in Valencia del Ventoso. He was fined €120 and legal costs for the first offence,[4] and was sentenced to eight days of house arrest and a €360 fine for the latter.[5]

In July 2018, Morales left the People's Party (PP) after opposing its regional recognition of the Historical Memory Law.[6] He then joined Vox in September,[7] becoming its first regional deputy.[8] He led his new party in the 2019 Extremaduran regional election, in which they won no seats, having finished under the threshold of 5%.[9]

Morales and several other Extremaduran politicians left Vox in April 2021, accusing it of hypocrisy for employing consultants and permanent staff despite its platform of lowering public spending.[10]

References
  1. "MORALES ÁLVAREZ, Juan Antonio" (in Spanish). Provincial Deputation of Badajoz. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  2. "Juan Antonio Morales se despide de la alcaldía de Lobón" [Juan Antonio Morales says goodbye to the Lobón mayor's office]. Crónicas de un Pueblo (in Spanish). 13 September 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  3. "La Fundación Franco premia a tres cargos del PP por "defender la memoria del Caudillo"" [Franco Foundation awards three PP office holders for "defending the memory of the Caudillo"]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). 13 December 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  4. "Confirmada la sentencia por injurias contra el exalcalde de Lobón" [Defamation sentence for ex-mayor of Lobón upheld]. Hoy (in Spanish). 30 October 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  5. "Dos sentencias condenan al secretario provincial del PP en Badajoz por injurias y desobediencia a la autoridad" [PP secretary in the Province of Badajoz given two sentences for defamation and disobeying authority]. ElDiario.es (in Spanish). 30 October 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  6. Gálvez, Celia (6 July 2018). "Juan Antonio Morales, el diputado premiado por la Fundación Franco, deja el PP pero no abandona su escaño" [Juan Antonio Morales, the deputy decorated by the Franco Foundation, leaves the PP but does not resign his seat]. El Periódico Extremadura (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  7. Romero, Rocío (12 January 2019). "Morales y Pozo se pasan a VOX" [Morales and Pozo move to VOX]. Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  8. Viejo, Manuel (12 January 2019). "El primer diputado de Vox, 'tránsfuga' y franquista: "El feminismo es una ideología de izquierdas"" [Vox's first deputy, 'turncoat' and Francoist: "Feminism is a left-wing ideology"]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  9. "Juan Antonio Morales: «Más de 25.000 personas han creído en nuestro programa»" [Juan Antonio Morales: "More than 25,000 people have believed in our program"]. Hoy (in Spanish). 27 May 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  10. "Cisma en Vox en Badajoz: "Es un partido antidemocrático"" [Schism in Vox in Badajoz: "It's an anti-democratic party"]. El Independiente (in Spanish). 6 April 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
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