Mónica Oltra Announces Candidacy for Mayor of Valencia Amid Ongoing Legal Trial

Mónica Oltra, former Vice President of the Generalitat Valenciana and former leader of the Compromís coalition, announced on March 28, 2026, that she will seek the Mayoralty of Valencia in the 2027 municipal elections, returning to frontline politics nearly four years after her resignation. Oltra made the announcement at the congress of Iniciativa del Poble Valencià, the party congress that had been awaiting her decision for months. Her return comes weeks after a court in Valencia agreed to open an oral trial against her and 12 former members of her team in the Department of Equality, accused of covering up sexual abuse committed by her ex-husband against a minor ward of the Generalitat. The announcement transforms the political landscape ahead of the 2027 vote, setting up a contest for Valencia's city hall that will pit Oltra against the current Mayor, María José Catalá of the PP, who took office in 2023.

Oltra faces trial while launching her campaign The judicial shadow hanging over Oltra's candidacy is the most contentious element of her return. A court in Valencia ordered the oral trial against Oltra and 12 former colleagues from her former Department of Equality, with the accusation centered on an alleged cover-up of sexual abuse carried out by her ex-husband against a minor in the care of the Generalitat. Her ex-husband was previously sentenced to five years in prison for the abuse. The prospect of a candidate sitting in the dock during an active electoral campaign is described by El Mundo as an "unusual image" that could define the 2027 race. Oltra resigned from her positions in 2022 after being indicted, and Compromís has consistently maintained that she is a victim of lawfare. The PP reacted swiftly to her announcement, stating that Oltra would never be a PP candidate because she is "on the verge of a trial for covering up abuse."

Left bets big on Valencia's political battleground Oltra's entry into the race reshapes the left's strategy for recapturing Valencia, a city the PP took in 2023 alongside control of the Generalitat Valenciana. The current President of the Generalitat Valenciana is Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca of the PP, who succeeded Carlos Mazón following Mazón's resignation in November 2025. Oltra's principal rival on the left is expected to be Pilar Bernabé, the Government Delegate in the Valencian Community and a senior figure in the PSOE, who is also seen as a potential candidate for the mayoralty. El Mundo described the contest as "the great battle of Valencia," with the left placing significant weight on the outcome. Oltra herself warned her supporters that unity of the left alone would not be sufficient, calling for a broader programmatic agenda. She urged her audience to begin "talking about prohibiting wealth," questioning why any individual should hold more than five million euros, five houses, or five cars.

Oltra served as Vice President, spokesperson, and Minister of Equality and Inclusive Policies of the Generalitat Valenciana from 2015 to 2022, governing in coalition with the PSOE under President Ximo Puig. She resigned in June 2022 following her indictment in the case involving her ex-husband's abuse of a minor ward. The PP won both the Valencia city hall and the Generalitat Valenciana in the 2023 regional and municipal elections, with María José Catalá becoming Mayor of Valencia. Carlos Mazón, who became President of the Generalitat Valenciana in July 2023, resigned in December 2025 and was succeeded by Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca.

Emotional speech sets defiant tone for comeback Oltra's address to the Iniciativa congress was received with applause and embraces, and her language was deliberately combative. She framed her return as a response to what she described as the rise of "fascism," arguing that political silence amounted to a concession to her opponents. She wore a T-shirt bearing a quote from activist Angela Davis reading: "I am not accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept." Her speech drew on themes of social justice and economic inequality alongside the personal dimension of her comeback.

„We cannot let them win” — Mónica Oltra via El Mundo

„Every day of silence I know the bad guys win” — Mónica Oltra via El Mundo

„Life wins and love wins. Yes, I accept the challenge” — Mónica Oltra via El Mundo

The announcement marks one of the most consequential returns in recent Valencian political history, with Compromís tying its electoral fortunes directly to Oltra's candidacy regardless of the outcome of her judicial proceedings.