Antonio Díaz takes office as mayor of Chercos: “The absolute priority is to solve the water problem”
Antonio Díaz succeeds José Antonio Torres, who died aged 100, as mayor of Chercos and wants to put an end to water being supplied by tanker.
Automatic translation: this article was translated with artificial intelligence from the original in Spanish. Read the original
Chercos now has a new mayor. Antonio Díaz has taken office at an extraordinary full council meeting held at the town hall, where he had the support of the councillors from VOX, Independientes (independents), Ciudadanos and Partido Popular (PP), as reported by La Voz de Almería. Díaz, who until now was deputy mayor and spokesperson for the governing team, succeeds José Antonio Torres, who died on 29 June at the age of 100, and takes over with the aim of continuing the work of the last term of office.
Water comes first
The new mayor is clear: “The absolute priority is to solve the water problem”. That is because, as he explained, “the residents of Chercos are being supplied by water tankers and that situation cannot go on any longer”. Díaz announced that he will meet whoever it takes to find a solution and said he was convinced he could count on the backing of Almería Provincial Council and the Andalusian regional government (Junta de Andalucía).
The mayor said he is taking up the post “with great enthusiasm and an enormous sense of responsibility” and that, although there is less than a year left until the end of the term, he will work “tirelessly” to improve residents’ quality of life and address the most urgent needs of the municipality. At the same meeting, Cristina Egea, of the PP, took up her seat as a councillor, joining the governing team.
Remembering José Antonio Torres
There was also a moment of remembrance. Díaz spoke of his predecessor, who had led Chercos Town Council since 1995, after retiring from the Guardia Civil (Spain’s Civil Guard), and thanked him for his work, “always thinking of what was best for Chercos and for all its residents”. Torres was the oldest serving mayor in Spain, and his death was reported by media across the country.
The handover comes at a time when the water supply is the main concern of this small Almanzora municipality. As the mayor himself has announced, meetings with the Provincial Council and the Junta to seek a solution will be his first task at the head of the town council.
