Usansolo stages his independence while waiting for judicial endorsement

In a solemn act, with the assembly hall of the Casa de Cultura to overflowing, the management commission that will lead Usansolo as the 113th town in Bizkaia (and 252 in the Basque Country) has been constituted. It is made up of eleven members, eight from Usansolo Herria and three from the PNV, who have a guaranteed mandate until May 28, because the results of the municipal elections that day in the municipality of Galdakao, on which they still depend, may vary the composition of the manager It will work like the plenary session of any other city council until they can attend the next municipal elections of 2027 -in those of this one they are already out of date-. All this, pending the resolution of the appeal of the State Attorney against the disengagement of Usansolo, based mainly on the fact that it does not comply with the Law, because it has 4,500 inhabitants and state regulations prevent it from doing so with less than 5,000, and that it can truncate the entire process of independence of the municipality. At the moment, as the court did not decree the precautionary measures requested by the State Attorney’s Office, the constitution calendar continues, without knowing for sure if it will come to fruition.

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The new president of the manager, Juan Agustín Aizpuru, from Usansolo Herria (UH), has been elected with the eight votes in favor of his formation, because the PNV has presented its own candidate. The ‘mayor’ has highlighted the “historical day” for the new municipality. In a brief speech, after his election, he recalled that in the last four years “very important moments have been experienced, but today is a historic moment.” “For almost four decades we have been dreaming of being the 113th municipality of Bizkaia and today we can say: mission accomplished”, he pointed out.

Aizpuru has offered his hand to his colleagues from the PNV in the management commission: “It will be up to us to make a town hall, and we will know how to agree and agree on Usansolo.” And he also thanked the mayor of Galdakao, Iñigo Hernando, from EH BIldu, for having facilitated the disengagement process. “Mayor, I want to tell you that today Usansolo begins a new time, but the agreement between the two municipalities will benefit everyone.”

Prior to the election, the eleven members of the manager who have promised their position had taken office. When the management commission has been constituted, the attending public has received its new representatives with a resounding applause. The secretary, appointed by the Bizkaia Provincial Council, Ramón Sorrain, will perform his functions until the new municipality has its own officials.

The step that has been taken this Thursday is important, because it marks the beginning of the operation of Usansolo as its own municipality. But, for now, it is one more step. From now on the period opens for you to register in the register of local entities, dependent on the Ministry of Territorial Policy, which will take place within a month. This registry will then have another month to respond to the request. This registration is what will allow the new town to configure its census, and may have subsidies and funds like the rest of the municipalities.

While that moment arrives, with the ‘sword of Damocles’ that supposes the possibility of there being a judicial decision that overthrows the independence of the municipality, the manager will begin to take steps to function as a council, while in Madrid steps are being taken to try to Usansolo’s independence comes to fruition. As confirmed by the deputy of Unidas Podemos, Roberto Uriarte, to elDiario.es/Euskadi, his party, the PNV and EH BIldu are finalizing a joint motion for the Local Regime law that sets the number of inhabitants to become a municipality at 5,000 is subsidiary to the foral regulations of Bizkaia, Álava and Gipuzkoa. If the motion goes ahead, it would not directly affect the legal proceedings opened against the disengagement, but it would facilitate the search for alternative solutions because they would no longer directly violate state regulations.

The first task of the managing commission will be to prepare the presentation in the registry of municipalities. Also look for a location to settle and act as a provisional town hall. The inauguration of the Txapelena Baserri, the hamlet in which the Casa de Cultura is located, was carried out this Thursday, but the idea is to look for other premises, as indicated by the president of the manager, who this Thursday left his position as UH councilor in the Galdakao town hall. Although that is the least of the problems, since it is a council that must start from scratch. With Galdakao, governed by EH Bildu, they have already agreed on the economic distribution (just under 70 million of the until now common box will be for Usansolo) and even the co-management of the cemetery. On the Usansolo side, there is the great infrastructure of Galdakao, the Osakidetza hospital.

Despite the fact that the judicial resolution is pending, the town 113 of Bizkaia has returned this Thursday to celebrate the new step to complete a process in which they have been working for decades. Residents of the town were waiting at the entrance of the House of Culture for the members of the management commission to toast with cava under the oak tree, which is a sprout of the Gernika tree.

The plenary session of the General Meetings of Bizkaia gave the go-ahead to the detachment of Galdakao on November 23, 2022 and that same day the new municipality celebrated in style what they considered a historical milestone uniting several generations of Usansolo. In order to reach the disengagement, a referendum was held in March, in which 80% of the votes were in favor of the disengagement. But the process started in 1998 with the creation of the first manager, and there was already another consultation in 2018, which was cancelled.

The Provincial Council Member for Public Administration and Institutional Relations of the Bizkaia Provincial Council, Elixabete Etxanobe, has stated that the constitution of the Usansolo Management Commission represents an “important milestone” but has called for “cautions” and “wait, see if finally” its registration in the Register of local entities takes place and this “long road” ends “well”. For now, she has to wait.