Benidorm recognizes on Constitution Day "the generosity" and "courage" of César Vicedo during the 'water crisis'

On the 44th anniversary of the Spanish Constitution, Benidorm has recognized today "the generosity" and "courage" of the former mayor of Beniardá in 1978 during the so-called 'water crisis', César Vicedo Bou, who died last November. In an institutional plenary session, Vicedo Bou was posthumously awarded the 'Corporate Medal' of the city, thus valuing the figure of who "was decisive in solving the problem of water supply to Benidorm" by making possible the plenary agreement that allowed "the prospecting of wells on land in the municipality of Beniardá" and that served to provide water to Benidorm.

This was remembered by the mayor, Toni Pérez, during the plenary session held at Plaza de la Hispanidad and attended, among others and together with the members of the Corporation, the national deputy Agustín Almodóbar; the regional deputy Manuel Pérez Fenoll; the provincial deputy and mayor of Benidorm, José Ramón González de Zarate, civil authorities and members of the Armed Forces and the State Security Corps; the queens of the Festes Majors Patronals; representatives of local associations; and also the former mayor of Benidorm during the 'water crisis', Rafael Ferrer Meliá.

Of the latter, Toni Pérez highlighted his "determination" and "delivery" at that historic moment that was resolved with "the outcropping of the largest aquifer in the Marina Baixa" which, in addition to saving "the model and the tourist brand", was the seed of "a very efficient water policy that today has, in the Marina Baixa Water Consortium and the water collection, treatment, and distribution networks in the region, an exemplary management model", which also places Benidorm as an "international benchmark for the management of such a precious resource".

Toni Pérez stressed that Vicedo Bou, who also became the first democratic mayor of Beniardá and who held the position at different times until adding four legislatures, was “a great public servant; a man of this land, a good man, with a small body, but with a huge heart”.

“People like César Vicedo –he added- Benidorm cannot and should not forget them. His work and the memory of him remain, and Benidorm and the people of Benidorm, forever grateful ”.

The 'Corporate Medal' to César Vicedo Bou was collected by his daughter, Mª Carmen Vicedo, who thanked the condolences received in recent weeks that "show that my father was a very grateful and loved person".

Mª Carmen Vicedo recalled the water situation of the Marina Baixa at the end of the 70s, how the drought hit Benidorm hard and her father's predisposition "to help" to make solutions viable. Likewise, it has transferred that the outcrop of the aquifer "was not only fundamental for Benidorm", but also "for the development of the region", since the incipient "offer of services" of Benidorm "benefited more and more nearby populations, among them those of Guadalest Valley, where Beniardá is located”.

After naming Rafael Ferrer Melía and the technicians who were also decisive in that 'water crisis', Mª Carmen Vicedo has assured that her father was always “very proud to see that his little grain of sand had helped Benidorm and all the Marina Baixa will experience an economic and population development as important as the one it currently has”.

Validity and renewal of commitment to the Spanish Constitution

Apart from the delivery of the 'Corporate Medal', the Benidorm institutional plenary session has served as a "tribute to the new generations of Spaniards to the men and women who opted for coexistence, reconciliation, harmony, and consensus from respect for the democratic pluralism in our country”, expressed the mayor.

Taking advantage of this anniversary of the Constitution, Toni Pérez has reaffirmed Benidorm's commitment to "the principles and values" contained in the Magna Carta that have contributed to "the construction of our coexistence model". Some principles and values of “freedom”, “justice”, “equality” and “political pluralism” “have no alternative if we want to continue living in a democracy”.

The mayor signified "the versatility of our constitutional text and its ability to respond and adapt to the different circumstances that have arisen in these forty-four years of Spanish history." The "validity of it" of it, he has assured, "allows us to affirm, emphatically, that our Constitution is in top shape to continue serving Spain for a long time."

This validity, however, does not imply that there are no issues to address such as "a new distribution of powers between the State and the Autonomous Communities" that gives "real entry to municipalism"; issue that among others "will only be possible to address successfully if they are in turn the result of a symbol of democratic normality: dialogue."

During his speech, the mayor pointed out that "perhaps what we really need right now in Spain is to strengthen the protection of the constitutional order against those who, using the institutions and laws, seek to weaken our Constitution, thereby weakening the value of our democracy." ”. Faced with these "attempts to alter it outside the legal channels", he has had an impact, it is "forced to claim" a "forceful response"; and he added that "it is to be hoped" that "the present difficulties we are suffering can be overcome with the same spirit and desire for consensus that gave birth to our Constitution."

He went on to delve into the fact that "the burden of the plurality of our Constitution is such", that the same text "protects the legality of political parties and organizations whose objective and raison d'être -to combat the foundation of the Spanish Constitution- threatens itself and requires us to defend it”. For this reason, in the face of "facts that can only be described as extremely serious," he proceeds to "claim a sense of State."