The internal complaint, filed at the end of August by a municipal worker, accuses Sandoval of making vulgar comments and sexual jokes. This situation has generated serious political instability in the council, where the PSC governed with the external support of the two formations now in opposition.
The councilor for 9 Sant Vicenç (9SV), Maria Villalta, who held the portfolios of Equality and Health, was responsible for activating the internal protocol and immediately submitted her resignation. Miquel Rovira, the CUP councilor responsible for Social Services and Economic Promotion, also plans to resign from his duties.
Until the distribution of responsibilities is reorganized, all portfolios managed by Villalta and Rovira, including Equality, have temporarily passed into the hands of Mayor Sandoval. The mayor was not reachable by the media this Wednesday, while the PSC holds internal meetings to address the crisis.
ERC has already made itself available to the rest of the pro-independence parties to initiate talks to configure a new government.
The crisis opens the door to a possible motion of no confidence, as the plenary is highly fragmented (thirteen councilors from six groups). ERC (1 councilor) has announced its willingness to negotiate with the other pro-independence forces (CUP, Primàries, 9SV, and JxCat) to form an alternative.
Although JxCat is the majority group, internal disputes facilitated Sandoval's investiture in 2019 with heterogeneous support. Sources close to the mayor's office suggest that Sandoval could resign in the coming hours, accelerating the timeline for a new investiture plenary ten days after his resignation.
