Marta Higueras returns to the Madrid political scene with her own project. The former right-hand woman of Manuela Carmena at the Madrid City Council has presented Independientes por Madrid, a new party that she defines as "municipalist and independent" and that is born with a central idea: to focus exclusively on the capital.
"We have no regional or national aspirations, we focus on Madrid, which deserves something better than choosing between factions", Higueras stressed during the presentation of the initiative. The former councilor insisted that her project "is not about blocs or factions", but about management, dialogue, and results.
The proposal is aimed, in her own words, at people tired of bloc politics, of bickering, and of parties conditioned by national strategies. Its objective is to open a space that talks about Madrid from Madrid, without depending on the priorities of any state leadership.
Who is Marta Higueras
Marta Higueras was one of the most relevant figures in the municipal government of Manuela Carmena. Between 2015 and 2019, she served as first deputy mayor of the Madrid City Council and took charge of the area of Equity, Social Rights, and Employment, one of the portfolios with the greatest political and social weight in the Ahora Madrid Executive.
Her relationship with Carmena went back a long way. Before entering municipal politics, Higueras was linked to the judicial and administrative fields. She is a penal mediator, worked in the courts of Plaza de Castilla, and also passed through the General Council of the Judiciary, where she was head of the Judicial Office Section. Furthermore, between 2009 and 2013, she was director of Justice and Public Administration for the Basque Government.
During Carmena's term, Higueras was considered one of the former mayor's most trusted individuals and effectively acted as a sort of deputy mayor. Her profile was always associated with municipal management, social services, mediation, and proximity policies.
From the Carmena Era to Her Own Project
Higueras's career is closely linked to the municipalism that came to the Madrid City Council in 2015, but she now tries to draw a line with that period. When asked if Independientes por Madrid represents a return to the origins of Más Madrid, she flatly dismissed it.
“It is a project that has little to do with previous projects. It is absolutely municipalist and independent, we are not trying to replicate anything, we do not want to take space from anyone”, she has pointed out.
Featured story
Marta Higueras launches Independientes por Madrid: “It’s not about blocs or sides”
4 minutes
The clarification is important because her name immediately brings to mind Carmena's circle and the experience of Ahora Madrid. However, Higueras wants to present this new platform as something different: a candidacy focused only on the city and without dependence on left-wing, right-wing, or state blocs.
Regarding the possible support of Manuela Carmena, Higueras has confirmed that she has spoken with the former mayor, although she has left it up to Carmena to publicly explain her position.
What is Independientes por Madrid
Independientes por Madrid is born as a municipalist project with the aim of running for the Madrid City Council. The formation defines itself as independent, without regional or national aspirations, and is integrated into a current of local candidacies made up of about 400 independent mayors from different parts of Spain.
Higueras has summarized the spirit of the project in three ideas: municipalism, dialogue, and management. Her approach involves measuring politics by results and not by factions, and by building an open space for people with diverse profiles who want to get involved in the city.
The platform has launched the website www.independientespormadrid.org, operational since this Monday, to channel suggestions, proposals, and citizen initiatives. The former councilor has asked the people of Madrid to participate and help define a program that deals “seriously” with issues such as housing, local commerce, neighborhood security, or public services.
A more defined program in September
The project is still in the construction phase. Higueras has announced that Independientes por Madridwill present a “somewhat more defined” program at the end of September, after an initial stage of listening and collecting proposals.
The intention is to develop a political offer focused on the capital's daily affairs. Housing, cleaning, mobility, commerce, neighborhood security, and the quality of municipal services appear as some of the axes that the formation wants to put in the foreground.
The underlying message is that Madrid cannot get caught up, according to Higueras, in national debates that have little to do with the direct management of the city. That is the idea with which the former councilor intends to differentiate herself from the major parties and also from her former political colleagues.
Meetings with Almeida, Maestre, and Ortega Smith
Higueras has confirmed that she has met with the spokespersons of all municipal groups. Among them, the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, from the PP; her former colleague and current leader of Más Madrid, Rita Maestre; and the former spokesperson for Vox, Javier Ortega Smith.
As she explained, the reception has been “very respectful” in all cases. Regarding her meeting with Maestre, Higueras pointed out that it was a “very cordial” meeting and that they both wished each other “mutual luck”.
These contacts serve to position the new formation within the municipal landscape before it finalizes its program and defines its candidacy. They also show Higueras's willingness to present herself as a transversal actor, willing to talk with all groups from a city-centric logic.
A New Player on Madrid's Board
The appearance of Independientes por Madrid introduces a new element into Madrid's municipal politics for the next electoral cycle. The City Council already has an ecosystem heavily marked by PP, Más Madrid, PSOE, and Vox, but Higueras aims to carve out her own space among those who feel alienated from partisan confrontation.
The challenge will not be easy. Madrid is a highly polarized city with a vote heavily influenced by national debate. Precisely for this reason, Higueras is trying to build her message on the opposite idea: a candidacy that does not depend on state-level blocs and that prioritizes the city's problems over party affiliations.
Her return can also be interpreted in a special way within Madrid's progressive sphere. Although she denies wanting to replicate Más Madrid or compete for its position, her figure is inevitably linked to the Carmena era and the municipalism that transformed the capital's politics in 2015.
Madrid as the Sole Horizon
Marta Higueras returns with a clear promise: Madrid as the sole horizon. No regional ambition, no national leap, and no obedience to state-level blocs. That is the framework with which she is trying to present Independientes por Madrid as a candidacy focused on management, dialogue, and proximity.
The question is whether that message can break through in a city where local politics is usually absorbed by the national fight. Higueras believes so and is betting on a municipalist approach to talk about housing, commerce, security, and neighborhoods. His new project starts with a simple, but politically ambitious idea: to convince the people of Madrid that there is still room for a candidacy that does not think in terms of blocs, but in terms of the city.