José Torres Hurtado (born 15 October 1946) is a Spanish People's Party (PP) politician. He was a member of the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...

(1982–1986),

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(1986–1989), Government Delegate in

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

(1996–2002) and mayor of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

(2003–2016). He resigned from the last role due to implication in a corruption scandal.

Biography

Born in

Píñar Píñar is a municipality located in the province of Granada, Spain. It is located at 46 km from Granada, and 11 km from Iznalloz, capital of the Comarca of Los Montes. It is home to the ruins of a large castle (likely founded by the Ro ...

in the

province of Granada Granada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea (along the Costa Tropi ...

, Torres Hurtado is a farmer. After serving in both houses of the

Cortes Generales The (; ) are the Bicameralism, bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate of Spain, Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, ...

and as a Government Delegate for the People's Party and its predecessor the Popular Alliance, he was named by his party as a member of the board at

Radio y Televisión de Andalucía Radio y Televisión de Andalucía (RTVA) is the public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster of the Spanish Autonomous Community of Andalusia. About RTVA Radio y Television de Andalucia (RTVA) is a provider of radio and TV ...

in 2002. In June 2003, Torres Hurtado was elected mayor of Granada with an absolute majority, replacing José Moratella of the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

. In 2015, to ensure a fourth successive term, he offered the opportunity of a coalition to the

Citizens Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...

party. Their leader Luis Salvador declined the offer, but ordered his party to abstain in the investiture, thereby electing Torres Hurtado. In April 2016, Torres Hurtado and his councillor in charge of city planning resigned after being implicated in a corruption scandal; he maintained his innocence. The case became known as ''Caso nazarí'' after the

Nasrid The Nasrid dynasty ( ''banū Naṣr'' or ''banū al-Aḥmar''; ) was an Arab dynasty that ruled the Emirate of Granada from 1232 to 1492. It was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula. Twenty-three sultans ruled Granada from the foun ...

dynasty that ruled the

Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Emirate, Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western ...

, and the trial began in 2020. In January 2021 the case was adjourned. Torres Hurtado ordered the removal of five memorial plaques in Granada cemeteries that were dedicated to the 4,000 victims of Francoist White Terror, including some of his predecessors as mayor. He was additionally criticised for comparing his trial to an execution by firing squad. The plaques were reinstalled after he left office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres Hurtado, Jose 1946 births Living people People from the Province of Granada People's Alliance (Spain) politicians People's Party (Spain) politicians Members of the 2nd Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 3rd Senate of Spain Mayors of Granada