The mayor of Algeciras (Cádiz), José Ignacio Landaluce, has formalized this Sunday, October 25, his resignation as mayor of the Cádiz municipality, putting an end to a stage of more than 15 years at the head of the City Council. The resignation occurs after he declared before the Justice last Friday as an investigated party for a presumed crime against sexual freedom, following the admission of a complaint filed by a young member of the Popular Party. His departure also comes after losing the support of a good part of his government team, whose members had promoted a motion of censure to remove him from office.
According to a statement from the City Council of Algeciras, the resignation letter was registered in the municipal electronic headquarters at 14:36 hours this Sunday, thus fulfilling the announcement that Landaluce had made last Monday. The leader had been serving as mayor of the locality since June 11, 2011, although his continuity had become unsustainable after the provincial PP demanded that he leave the Mayor's Office following the complaints of alleged sexual assaults. It is expected that Jacinto Muñoz Madrid, general secretary of the PP of Algeciras and until a few days ago first deputy mayor, will assume the direction of the City Council during the extraordinary plenary session called for next Wednesday.
Landaluce will continue to serve as mayor until the plenary on October 28
Although Landaluce has already formally registered his resignation, he will continue to perform the functions of mayor until the municipal plenary takes note of his resignation. This is established by article 40.4 of the Royal Decree 2568/1986, of November 28, which approves the Regulation of Organization, Functioning and Legal Regime of Local Entities (ROF). Therefore, the still mayor maintains his competencies, powers, and attributions until the corresponding institutional procedure is completed.
The changeover is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, the date on which an extraordinary session of the municipal Corporation will be held. The plenary had initially been convened to debate and vote on a motion of censure against Landaluce, presented by 12 of the 15 councilors who made up his government team, with the support of the four representatives of Vox. The initiative was pushed after the mayor initially refused to step down, despite the requests made by the provincial leadership of the PP.
The resignation has not meant the withdrawal of the motion of censure, which remains included in the agenda. The proposed candidate to replace Landaluce is Jacinto Muñoz, until then one of his closest collaborators and currently the general secretary of the Popular Party in Algeciras. His arrival at the mayor's office would put an end to a stage of more than fifteen years of municipal government led by Landaluce, who has still not definitively clarified whether he will retain his councilor position or if he will completely leave the Corporation.
The resignation comes two days after being questioned for an alleged crime against sexual freedom
Landaluce's departure occurs just 48 hours after his appearance before the Court of Violence against Women number 2 of Algeciras, where he testified last Friday, October 23, as a suspect for an alleged crime against sexual freedom. The investigation was opened after a young member of the New Generations of the Popular Party reported having suffered unwanted touching in the mayor's office during the past month of July.
The judge admitted the complaint and summoned the mayor to give a statement, after having listened to the complainant and several witnesses related to the case. Among them was Jacinto Muñoz himself, called to testify before becoming the main candidate to replace Landaluce at the head of the City Council.
Upon leaving the courthouse, the still mayor denied the accusations and defended his innocence, while expressing his desire for the judicial process to be resolved as soon as possible. "I want them to pay for the damage they have done to me," he stated before reporters, assuring that the complaints had caused serious harm to his personal, political, and family image. Landaluce also denounced what he considers an organized campaign against him and maintained that he will demonstrate before the courts that the facts attributed to him are false.
The judicial investigation remains open and there is no conviction against Landaluce, who maintains his presumption of innocence. The status of being investigated implies that Justice is examining the reported facts, but does not mean that his criminal responsibility has been determined.
The complaints of two PP militants precipitated the breakup of the municipal government
The political crisis that has led to the resignation worsened on October 12, when the provincial leadership of the Popular Party in Cádiz, chaired by Bruno García, became aware of the complaints made by two women linked to the party. According to information published by elDiario.es, the complainants attribute to Landaluce alleged non-consensual sexual behaviors, including touching and episodes in which he supposedly forced them to maintain contact with his genitals.
These accusations, which must be clarified in the corresponding proceedings, provoked an immediate reaction from the Popular leadership. The PP of Cádiz demanded that Landaluce resign, but the mayor initially resisted leaving his position. In light of his refusal, twelve of the fifteen councilors who were part of the municipal team withdrew their confidence and left the local government, leaving the mayor with the support of only three councilors.
The breakup ultimately materialized in a motion of censure driven by the critical Popular councilors and supported by Vox, which set October 28 as the date for its debate. It was precisely this loss of support that led Landaluce to announce last Monday that he would leave the Mayor's office before the vote. In his message, the leader described the decision as "forced", although he assured that he intended to facilitate an orderly institutional transition.
The controversy adds to other proceedings related to sexual accusations that had already affected his political career. Landaluce had left the Popular Party in December 2025, after a complaint filed by the PSOE before the Supreme Court that was subsequently archived, and he had also left his seat in the Senate.
The end of more than fifteen years at the head of the Algeciras City Council
The resignation puts an end to an extensive political stage that began in June 2011, when José Ignacio Landaluce first accessed the Mayor's Office of Algeciras. Since then, he had maintained control of the City Council throughout successive legislatures, becoming one of the municipal leaders with the longest trajectory in the province of Cádiz.
His institutional farewell took place this Saturday, when he participated in the symbolic handover of the mayoral staff to Christ of Medinaceli, a ceremony held in the city that he had announced as his last official act before submitting his resignation. A day later, Landaluce has fulfilled the planned schedule and has submitted his resignation electronically.
The Algeciras City Council now faces a leadership change in the midst of a political and judicial crisis, with Jacinto Muñoz as the main candidate to assume the Mayor's Office until the next municipal elections. The plenary session on Wednesday will mark the institutional closure of Landaluce's stage, while the judicial investigations opened by the complaints will continue their course independently of his departure from office.