Is your home in good order?

I once heard someone say that Spain could be at war and life in some international communities would carry on as normal until a bomb actually dropped. An exaggeration perhaps, but it certainly makes a point.

How much do we really know about what is happening politically in the city we call home?

Do you know that Marbella has a female mayor, Ángeles Muñoz? Do you know who the opposition parties are, what they stand for or what they are challenging?

Each week on English Edition, together with Marbella Town Hall, we bring you updated local news, we explain investments, improvements, projects and events, helping international residents be as aware of what is happening around them here as they would be back home.

As an example, in this week’s programme we cover the recent State of the City Debate, the first for five years. Our mayor used the occasion to highlight Marbella’s progress since she first took office in 2007, when Marbella was still dealing with the financial and planning legacy of the Gil era. She pointed to a municipal budget that has grown from €185 million to around €450 million, unemployment at its lowest level in two decades, greater planning stability and continued investment in public facilities.

The opposition painted a very different picture. PSOE questioned the local government’s management and priorities, Opción Sampedreña criticised the five-year absence of the debate, while Vox raised concerns over traffic, cleanliness and security.

Meanwhile, Marbella continues to grow, with more than 173,000 registered residents and an increasingly international population. Whichever side of the political debate you agree with, housing, traffic, taxes, security, planning and public services affect us all; this is our home.