INTERNET DEATH THREATS AGAINST JIMERA’S MAYORArrested man PA candidate for mayor
By David Eade – Costa del Sol News
The Guardia Civil have arrested Eugenio Becerra who is alleged to have used the internet to make threats and coercion against the mayor of Jimera de Líbar.
Becerra is 64-years old, a resident of the village who has also been detained on illegally carrying weapons. It is alleged he used the internet forum Forociudad.com - municipio de Jimera de Libar to make threats under the pseudonyms jesusmartinez, eusebio 1964 and liberarte.
The threats – which included murder – included one saying that the locality of Jimera de Libar would become another Fago – a municipality in which the mayor was killed in January 2007.
The mayor of Jimera de Libar is the Partido Popular’s Mayte Domínguez. She has declined to make any pronouncements on the hate campaign against her saying it is in the hands of the courts but admits she has been very worried for her family.
The mayor has put up with the situation for over a year and only went to the Guardia Civil when the detained man physically assaulted the owner of a camping site in the municipality. She asked that a psychiatric evaluation be carried out at the time on the arrested man.
The accused was arrested on his land last Friday. Officers found two fire arms hidden in his vehicle, one was loaded and ready to fire. He had no documentation so the shotguns were owned illegally.
It has since been revealed that Eugenio Becerra was intending to stand against the mayor as the main candidate for the Partido Andalucista at the next municipal elections. He has dismissed the charges against him saying the accusations are politically motivated. He says the internet threats could have been written by anyone in an internet café and explained the weapons on the fact he used to be a hunter.
THE OBAMA EFFECT CONTINUES
President Barack Obama might be struggling in the USA and facing difficult elections for Congress and the Senate this autumn. However in Ronda his popularity and the knock-on effect of his wife’s recent visit has brought major tourism benefits.
Ronda’s mayor, Antonio Marín, said Michelle Obama had promised to return “and not alone”. This has fuelled speculation that she will bring her husband with her. For now the town of the Tajo has had to be satisfied with the arrival of the US Ambassador to Spain, Alan Solomont, who dropped in on the Pedro Romero fair celebrations.
Interestingly Solomont trod in the footsteps of his nation’s first lady being escorted to the Casa de Don Bosco with its gardens and views of the Tajo gorge as well as the splendid Palacio de Mondragón.
Whether the Obamas return remains to be seen. What is certain is that Ronda has received a major boost in the USA and along with the ambassador many US citizens have also added the historic town to their schedules.
FOURTEEN YEAR OLD SHOT BY FRIEND
Last Tuesday night Ronda was preparing for its annual Pedro Romero feria with processions through the streets and crowds thronging the bars before heading to the fair ground.
Then at 21.40 a shot rang out above the avenida de Andalucía and both the National Police and the ambulance service were racing to the scene. Cars came to a halt with residents hanging from their balconies to see what had happened.
A 14-year-old youth had been in one of the apartments with his friend. On the wall had been an old hunting gun and they started to play with it. It had been a decorative item and the surprising fact was not they used it for a game but loaded it with a cartridge.
During the larking around the gun went off and the 14-year-old fell to the ground injured. He had been shot in the back and shoulder but thankfully although he was rushed to hospital and later transferred to the Carlos Haya in Málaga his injuries are not life threatening. His friend was also treated for extreme shock.
Police have stated that thanks to the gun being old and had not been used for sometime the cartridge was not fired with the force of a maintained weapon. Although the shot gun was decorative it is understood it was licensed by the father of one of the boys.
BANDIT MUSEUM
The Museo del Bandolero dedicated to the bandits who lived in the Serranía de Ronda has received 51,000 visitors every year since it opened in 1995. The museum housed in a fine 19 th century house in the historic quarter of Ronda has over 1,300 exhibits. There is also a collection of comics dating from the 1940s on the life of the bandits.
The Museo del Bandolero dedicated to the bandits who lived in the Serranía de Ronda has received 51,000 visitors every year since it opened in 1995. The museum housed in a fine 19 th century house in the historic quarter of Ronda has over 1,300 exhibits. There is also a collection of comics dating from the 1940s on the life of the bandits.
BARRACK PARKING
The former Concepcion military barracks in the centre of Ronda have now been demolished. The cleared space has been given over to parking until the plans for the site have been agreed. The area has been tarred over and has room for 200 cars plus 30 motorbikes. Opposition parties opposed the demolition believing the historic buildings could have been put to use.
The former Concepcion military barracks in the centre of Ronda have now been demolished. The cleared space has been given over to parking until the plans for the site have been agreed. The area has been tarred over and has room for 200 cars plus 30 motorbikes. Opposition parties opposed the demolition believing the historic buildings could have been put to use.
PINSAPO CAMPAIGN
The Andalucía ministry of the environment has started a campaign to improve the stock of the rare pinsapo pine trees in the Sierra de las Nieves national park. Twenty volunteers are taking part in the planting which will continue to September 13. Studies are also being carried out in to the numbers of pinsapos and on the ecology of the Genal river.
The Andalucía ministry of the environment has started a campaign to improve the stock of the rare pinsapo pine trees in the Sierra de las Nieves national park. Twenty volunteers are taking part in the planting which will continue to September 13. Studies are also being carried out in to the numbers of pinsapos and on the ecology of the Genal river.
JOBLESS RISE
The number of unemployed rose in Ronda by 61 in August. The new total stands at 4,103 of which 2,177 are women and 1,926 are men. The summer months have traditionally seen a fall in the jobless total as people are employed in the tourist related industries but this year the number of those out of work rose across the province of Málaga.
The number of unemployed rose in Ronda by 61 in August. The new total stands at 4,103 of which 2,177 are women and 1,926 are men. The summer months have traditionally seen a fall in the jobless total as people are employed in the tourist related industries but this year the number of those out of work rose across the province of Málaga.
ANNIVERSARY CORRIDA
Ronda has celebrated another Pedro Romero fair which was also the 225 th anniversary of the founding of the town’s bullring. The star matador, Francisco Rivera Ordóñez, who holds the concession for staging the famous Goyesca bullfight, was also overseeing the 45 th such event.
