Boix expresses his preference for Picardo to win the elections to continue negotiating.

Gibraltar & El Campo
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The Mayor of San Roque, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix, held a meeting with Gibraltar's Acting Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, to continue progress on the agreement for a shared prosperity zone.

The Mayor agrees with Picardo that 'in this good neighbourliness is where we will continue working, and where we commit from the responsibility that I currently assume to maintain it in the present and in the future.'

'We know,' Ruiz Boix indicates, 'about the bonds of unity, coexistence, friendship, and economic and labor relations that exist among the more than 300,000 inhabitants, including the residents of the Campo de Gibraltar and the city of Gibraltar.'

In the meeting, 'we also assessed the latest incidents that occurred in our region, mainly at the border, where we have worked together to ensure the smoothest flow possible so that the more than 14,000 Spanish and foreign citizens who live in the region and commute to work in Gibraltar, as well as all the residents of Gibraltar who engage in activities in our region, have the smoothest border crossings.'

In this regard, Ruiz Boix hopes that 'on October 12th, when the general elections are held in Gibraltar, there will be an opportunity to continue the work of those individuals who engage in dialogue and who are eager to have a shared Prosperity zone.'

Ruiz Boix recalls that 'the coexistence that we recovered since 1982, with a socialist government, after a dark period of closed relations and borders, which was decided to reopen in the first government of Felipe González, and almost 40 years later, we have strengthened it, and that is where we need to continue working so that together we can share the economy, jobs, and continue nurturing those good neighbourly relations on both sides of the border.

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Ruiz Boix defends his meeting with Picardo in Gibraltar and criticises the 'submissiveness' of Pérez Custodio

The Mayor of San Roque and Member of Parliament for the Spanish Socialist Party, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix, positively assessed the meeting he had last Friday with the acting Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo.

Ruiz Boix has argued that the visit was 'in order to continue the conversation and find out what positions we are going to defend, which in this case, I am convinced, all the mayors of the Campo de Gibraltar, and also the Chief Minister, support, to achieve that Zone of Shared Prosperity in all aspects, including the waters.'

'We understand that this is where all political leaders should be, in the search for agreements, consensus, and the promotion of coexistence and the bonds of friendship, family, economic, and employment that we know,' he explained, referring to the Popular Party (PP).

Ruiz Boix has defended that, if there were any conflicts, they should always be addressed with responsibility, through dialogue, and never through the prominence of those 'who do not have a track record in municipal management and who try to hide their management behind a level of prominence that does not correspond to them, which in this case belongs to the bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Spain, which we know have been working in a cordial manner.'

The Mayor of San Roque has recalled the speech of the new head of the Association of Municipalities of Campo de Gibraltar, Susana Pérez Custodio (Popular Party), which he shares due to its friendly tone towards Gibraltar. However, the socialist has stated that 'unfortunately, it does not coincide with the belligerent and conflictive position of the Mayor of Algeciras on a permanent basis.'

Ruiz Boix has also criticised the alleged 'submissive' situation of Pérez Custodio regarding the Mayor of Algeciras, José Ignacio Landaluce, whom he has described as 'her boss' due to the response given by the head of the Association of Municipalities of Campo de Gibraltar Europa Sur when asked if she would be directed from the Algeciras City Council, to which she replied, 'when I have an important decision to make, of course, and as the Mayor of Algeciras, I will consult him.