Pedro Castro Vázquez

Pedro Castro Vázquez (born 12 February 1945)[1] is a former Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) politician. He was the mayor of Getafe in the Community of Madrid from 1983 to 2011, and the president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) from 2007 to 2011.

Biography

Born in Tomelloso in the province of Ciudad Real, Castro is married and has three children. He was elected to Getafe City Council in the first democratic local elections in 1979, becoming deputy mayor to Juan Prieto de la Fuente, and the councillor responsible for youth.[1]

Castro was elected mayor in 1983, and served seven terms before being defeated by Juan Soler-Espiauba of the People's Party (PP) in 2011. He went on hunger strike to persuade prime minister of Spain Felipe González to build a hospital in Getafe, and in his final years achieved the construction of 10,000 homes, despite the Great Recession. He was known for his use of technology and communications: he had a radio call-in show for over 20 years and was an early user of Twitter, as well as writing a blog.[1]

In 2002, Castro persuaded his former trade union colleague and local construction and nightlife businessman Ángel Torres to purchase the bankrupt football club Getafe CF. Within two years, the team was in La Liga for the first time, where they remained a mainstay.[2]

In August 2006, Castro requested that Getafe be the capital of the Community of Madrid instead of the city of Madrid, as Madrid is already the national capital. He likened the proposal to Santiago de Compostela and Mérida, the respective capitals of Galicia and Extremadura despite not being the largest cities. He mentioned the Charles III University of Madrid, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Getafe, the La Liga football team Getafe CF and the importance of the local aeronautics industry as reasons for the move. Raúl Callé, mayor of nearby Leganés, ridiculed the proposal by suggesting that Castro apply for the capital of Pluto.[3]

In 2007, Castro was elected president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) as the PSOE candidate with 15,997 votes, while the PP candidate Regina Otaola received 11,310.[4] In December 2008, he publicly asked in a municipal meeting "why are there so many stupid people who still vote for the right?"[5] The PP threatened to leave FEMP if Castro did not resign.[6] In April 2009, the PP group in the Senate of Spain walked out of a parliamentary appearance by Castro.[7]

References
  1. "Castro dejará la Alcaldía de Getafe después de 28 años" [Castro will leave the Getafe mayor's office after 28 years] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  2. Vila, Nando (26 June 2019). "How Getafe climbed from La Liga 2 to the brink of Champions League qualification". The Athletic. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  3. "El alcalde de Getafe reclamará la capitalidad de la Comunidad de Madrid" [Mayor of Getafe will request capital status of the Community of Madrid]. El Mundo (in Spanish). EFE. 25 August 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  4. "El socialista Pedro Castro, nuevo presidente de la FEMP" [Socialist Pedro Castro, new president of the FEMP]. Hoy (in Spanish). Europa Press. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  5. "Pedro Castro: '¿Por qué hay tanto tonto de los cojones que todavía vota a la derecha?'" [Pedro Castro: 'Why are there so many stupid people who still vote for the right?']. El Mundo (in Spanish). EFE. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  6. "El PP abandonará la FEMP si Pedro Castro no dimite por insultar a los votantes populares" [PP will leave FEMP if Pedro Castro does not resign for having insulted PP voters]. ABC (in Spanish). 5 December 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  7. "El PP planta a Pedro Castro en el Senado" [PP walks out on Pedro Castro in the Senate]. ABC (in Spanish). 27 April 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
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