The Liberal Independent Group ( es, Grupo Independiente Liberal, GIL) was a

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

Spanish political party, founded in 1991 by the businessman Jesús Gil y Gil who was mayor of

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

in the

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (literally "Coast of the Sun" or "Sun Coast") is a region in the south of Spain in the autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of Málaga and the easte ...

, and convicted of corruption. "GIL", the acronym of the party's name in Spanish, is a play on words, as it references the surname of the party's founder, Jesus Gil. GIL governed Marbella beginning in 1991 on a platform of fighting petty crime and carrying out public ornamental works in the city. At the same time, Marbella was known as a refuge for British, Italian and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

crime lords. After Gil was removed by a Spanish tribunal on charges of

political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, in ...

, Julián Muñoz, (also known for his romance with singer

Isabel Pantoja María Isabel Pantoja Martín (; born August 2, 1956) is a Spanish singer. She was born in the Triana district of Seville, Spain. She has released more than a dozen albums throughout a career spanning many decades, mostly of '' copla'' genre, ...

), assumed the mayoralty of the city. He was later ousted by GIL members supporting Marisol Yagüe Reyes with the help of a turncoat

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...

councillor who had been a vocal critic of corruption. In March 2006, Yagüe and most of her administration were brought to trial on charges of corruption concerning their management of urban development and planning permissions in Marbella. In April 2006, the Spanish government initiated procedures to forcibly dissolve the council, an unprecedented movement in the history of recent Spanish democracy. GIL also established a strong presence in

Estepona Estepona () is a town and municipality in the comarca of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its district covers an area of 137 square kilometers in a fertile ...

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

and

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...

. ''Gilismo'' ("gilism") has been identified as an ''italianized'' populism and as example of the '' berlusconization'' of Spanish politics, and along the political experiences of

José María Ruiz Mateos José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

and

Mario Conde Mario Antonio Conde Conde (; born 14 September 1948) is a Spanish businessman, former banker, state lawyer and politician. He served as chairman of Banesto from November 1987 to December 1993, when he was dismissed and the firm intervened by th ...

, as an example of protestary populism in Spain.

References

Bibliography

* * 1991 establishments in Spain 2007 disestablishments in Spain Defunct liberal political parties Defunct political parties in Spain Far-right political parties in Spain Liberal parties in Spain Political parties established in 1991 Political parties disestablished in 2007 Right-wing populism in Spain {{Spain-party-stub

See also

References

Bibliography