Benavides Méndez fills Cabezas' vacancy on the Governing Board

The president of the Provincial Council of Badajoz, Raquel del Puerto Carrasco, has appointed deputy María Josefa Benavides Méndez as a member of the provincial Governing Board, in order to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Ricardo Cabezas Martín. The decision was formalized through a Presidential resolution dated October 29, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz No. 212, corresponding to Thursday, November 5, 2026, under announcement reference 4352/2026 of the Functional Area of Presidency and Institutional Relations.

The official text recalls that the Plenary of the provincial Corporation, in an ordinary session on September 30, 2026, took note of the resignation from the position of deputy submitted by Ricardo Cabezas Martín and declared the vacancy within the institution. Since that deputy had been appointed as a member of the Governing Board by a Presidential resolution on June 7, 2025, the Presidency considers that it “is appropriate to fill the existing vacancy, as is legally required.”

The handover comes after the October plenary

The appointment occurs after the provincial corporation held an ordinary session on October 30, 2026, the agreements of which were published in the same gazette under reference 4343/2026. In that plenary, the Acting Secretary General reported on the credential issued by the Central Electoral Board in favor of Juan Manuel Iglesias Carrillo as provincial deputy for the judicial district of Badajoz, replacing Ricardo Cabezas Martín, and the President declared his inauguration with the presentation of the institutional medal.

The session was attended by 25 of the 27 deputies who make up the Corporation, after Gregorio Gallego Borrego excused his absence. In that same session, the institutional administrative reorganization proposed by the President to adapt to the new situation was approved, with 16 votes in favor from the Socialist Group and 10 abstentions from the Popular Group, and the resolution of October 29 appointing María Josefa Benavides Méndez as a member of the Governing Board was reported.

A decision-making body that meets every fifteen days

The resolution frames the appointment within the power of self-organization recognized by article 4.1.a) of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, and within the powers of article 35.1 of the same law, in relation to articles 72 and 73 of Royal Decree 2568/1986, of November 28, which approves the Regulation of Organization, Operation and Legal Regime of Local Entities, and article 12 of the Provincial Organic Regulation.

The announcement itself defines the Governing Board as a “provincial collegiate body of a resolutory nature, whose sessions are held on a biweekly basis.” Its effects are determined from the date the resolution is signed; it must be reported to the Corporation in the next ordinary plenary session—in compliance with Article 66 of Royal Decree 2568/1986—and any previous resolutions issued on this matter are rendered null and void. The Acting Secretary General took note for its transcription into the electronic book of resolutions, pursuant to Article 3.2.e) of Royal Decree 128/2018, of March 16.

The resulting composition of the body

Following the appointment, the Governing Board of the Provincial Council of Badajoz is composed as follows:

• President: Raquel del Puerto Carrasco.
• Members: Juan María Delfa Cupido, Carmen Yánez Quirós, Ramón Díaz Farias, María Josefa Benavides Méndez, Manuel Gómez Parejo, Abel González Ramiro, Lourdes Linares Matito, María Concepción López López, and Ana Belén Valls Muñoz.

The body had been holding sessions regularly: the Plenary of October 30 took note of the agreements adopted in the session of October 16, focused on subsidies, contract awards, public prices, and collaboration agreements, and the minutes of the meeting on that same day were pending preparation.

The movement affects the decision-making core of an institution that provides services to the 165 municipalities and 15 local entities of the province, as emphasized by the President in the October plenary. With the incorporation of Benavides Méndez, the Provincial Council completes its governing team and can continue resolving subsidies, contracts, and agreements via urgent procedure every fifteen days, without waiting for plenary sessions.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz, No. 212, November 5, 2026, Local Administration (Provincial Councils), pp. 2-4 (official reference: announcement 4352/2026).