María Francisca Carazo Villalonga (born 11 October 1977) is a Spanish People's Party (PP) politician, elected 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 ...

in 2023. She was previously a city councillor in Granada (2007–2012), member of the

Parliament of Andalusia The Parliament of Andalusia () is the legislature of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia instituted by the Andalusian Charter of Autonomy of 1981. It is elected by the residents of Andalusia every four years. Functions *To elect the ...

(2012–2023) and Minister of Development, Infrastructures and Territory Planning in the

Regional Government of Andalusia The Regional Government of Andalusia () is the government of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia. It consists of the Parliament of Andalusia, Parliament, the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia, President of the Regional Government ...

(2019–2023).

Biography

Carazo was born in

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

. Having initially studied

optometry Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

, she then graduated in political science from the

University of Granada The University of Granada (, UGR) is a public university located in the city of Granada, Spain, and founded in 1531 by Emperor Charles V. With more than 60,000 students, it is the fourth largest university in Spain. Apart from the city of Granad ...

. In 1996, she joined the People's Party (PP), serving as leader of the New Generations of the People's Party (NNGG) in

from 2000 to 2005. In 2007, Carazo was elected onto Granada's city council and was the councillor responsible for tourism in the local government of mayor José Torres Hurtado. In

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, she left her municipal seat upon being elected to the

. She was the PP's lead candidate in the Granada constituency in the

2018 Andalusian regional election The 2018 Andalusian regional election was held on Sunday, 2 December 2018, to elect the 11th Parliament of Andalusia, Parliament of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. All 109 seats in the Parliament were up for ...

, in which the party formed a government with

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; ...

(Cs).

President of the Regional Government of Andalusia The president of the Regional Government of Andalusia () or, simply the president of Andalusia (), is the premier of the devolution, devolved government of the Spain, Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. The p ...

Juan Manuel Moreno Juan Manuel "Juanma" Moreno Bonilla (born 1 May 1970) is a Spanish politician and president of the Andalusian branch of the People's Party. Since 18 January 2019, he has been the President of the Government of Andalusia. He represented the C ...

, named her Minister of Development, Infrastructures and Territory Planning. On 3 January 2023, Carazo was named head of the PP's list for Granada City Council in the May elections. She resigned her regional offices on 3 April. She increased her party's share from 7 to 14 of the 27 seats, making her the first woman to be mayor of Granada.

Personal life

Carazo met her husband José Ramón "Jota" Carmona at university. He was a city councillor in

Antequera Antequera () is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de An ...

Province of Málaga The province of Málaga ( ) is located in Andalusia, Spain. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and by the provinces of Cádiz to the west, Seville to the northwest, Córdoba to the north, and Granada to the east. The province ...

, and was also elected to the Parliament of Andalusia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carazo, Marifran 1977 births Living people People from Valladolid University of Granada alumni People's Party (Spain) politicians Members of the 9th Parliament of Andalusia Members of the 10th Parliament of Andalusia Members of the 11th Parliament of Andalusia Members of the 12th Parliament of Andalusia Mayors of Granada 21st-century Spanish women politicians