The Digester
general

Gonzalo Muíños opens door to independent Santiago candidacy for 2027

After Santiago exceeded 100,000 inhabitants and council seats increase to 27, non-attached councillor Gonzalo Muíños says he is seriously considering an independent candidacy built around ex-PSOE colleagues amid disputes with the local BNG-led government and the PSOE.

Mar 30th 2026 · Spain

Insights

  • Santiago's 2025 census passed 100,000 residents, raising the city council from 25 to 27 seats and the majority threshold to 14 councillors.
  • Gonzalo Muíños, a non-attached councillor expelled from the PSOE, says he and former PSOE colleagues are considering forming an independent list for the 2027 municipal elections.
  • Muíños told COPE he is "thinking very, very seriously" about running but will decide later whether to stand.
  • He says many residents are urging them to present an alternative to the current BNG-Compostela Aberta local government, the Partido Popular and the PSOE.
  • Muíños defended his group's vote that allowed the initial approval of the 2026 budgets as a coherent choice to avoid a doomed motion of censure while remaining critical of the mayor Goretti Sanmartín's management.
  • He describes the split from the local PSOE as an "exercise of democratic hygiene" and says his expulsion dossier included a one-month sanction for his public statements.

Sources