Oleiros: Spain's Richest Town Led by Ex-Communist

Oleiros, Galicia's wealthiest town governed by an ex-communist

Oleiros has little in common with humility. The municipality with the highest average income in Galicia is governed by a former Communist Party member who now runs with his own independent party and recently dismissed other political groups for "feeding on institutional ink." This paradox—a high-income town administered by someone who rejects the party system—is the core of a debate that starts with irony and ends in political economy.

The first surprise comes from the mayor's profile: he was Julio Iglesias' doorman, once met Muammar Gaddafi, and reportedly defends Franco-era housing policies today. It is not a typical resume for a left-wing official. That is where the vertigo begins.

A wealthy town with barricade rhetoric

The contradiction is not just biographical, but urbanistic. It is claimed that the mayor's municipal policies have prevented middle and lower classes from settling in Oleiros. In other words: anti-capitalist discourse coexists with a de facto closure of access to housing. The result is a homogeneous municipality at the top, with intact rhetoric.

The prevailing diagnosis is that communism, in its contemporary version, has ceased to be an economic position to become an aesthetic. Those who defend it, it is argued, do not give up airport VIP lounges or Bizum payments. The slogan has become compatible with wealth.

Why is communism associated with money today?

The dominant answer is uncomfortable: because high-income left-wing voters do not pay the cost of their own policies. This phenomenon is labeled champagne socialism, illustrated by the paradox of those who despise the poor while invoking them. The derogatory term used to describe poor people voting right-wing is cited as proof of this disconnect.

There is a more benevolent reading: comfort generates skepticism, not activism. The children of those who worked hard vote for things that cost them nothing. The villager, regardless of education level, is not fooled by roundabouts.

Breaking the mold: Marinaleda and Trebujena

In contrast to the Galician case are municipalities where communism is management, not posturing: Marinaleda and Trebujena, in Cádiz province, communist since Franco's death. There, the narrative and income align. In Oleiros, they do not.

The comparison serves more than humor: it suggests that municipal communism is not a uniform ideology but a local brand with opposing contents depending on the territory. Same sign, two economies.

The sculpture that trolled the town

The most cited detail remains: the municipal sculpture, which many identify as Aznar wearing a cap and which, according to the most repeated joke, was a commission the artist resolved at the politician's expense. In the nineties, t-shirts and stickers with that image circulated. A private joke monument at municipal scale.

With these elements, the prediction is easy and deceptive: as long as housing continues to shut out those who cannot afford it, the debate over whether Oleiros is communist or simply expensive will remain alive. Although, with this mayor, perhaps the correct question is not that one.