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Óscar Robles gave the bell in the municipal elections of May 28. In the middle of the PP tsunami throughout the region of Madrid, the Vox candidate ousted the popular of the Mayor's Office of Rascafría and will be the first and only councilor of the formation of Santiago Abascal in the Community.

Vox obtained in this municipality of the Lozoya Valley three councilors ahead of the PP, which achieved two, and the PSOE another two, while the independent lists of Neighborhood Candidacy Rascafría-Oteruelo and Somos Rascafría added one councilor each.

And what has happened for Robles to become mayor the first time he runs? We planted ourselves without prior notice in the house of the future councilor of Rascafría so that the interested party explains it to us. And this is his cover letter: "People know us. We are of the people and for the people. The press paints those of Vox as if we were devils, but we are ordinary people who work. We have neither fangs nor horns nor are we as buzzed as they say," he jokes.

However, many neighbors are still surprised by his sudden electoral triumph last Sunday. "We didn't expect them. I don't even know who he is, and even less if he's from Vox. When they discussed it at home, neither my husband nor I had any idea," says Juana Beja sitting in a bar at aperitif time.

"I don't know this man at all. I have never seen him. Do you understand anything?" asks Ángel Sanz, on the banks of the Artiñuelo stream, which runs through this town of 1,736 inhabitants.

And this left-wing countryman launches his last lament: "Those who were reds all their lives are now right-wing. This village used to be a mine. We had the mountain clean as the jets of gold and now it is sad to see it."

At his side, is Tomás García, who also rants about the new councilor: "This guy is not going to finish the legislature because he has many people against him. There is going to be a motion of censure," he anticipates.

A group of retirees, in RascafríaJOSÉ AYMÁ

But, as happens everywhere, in Rascafría there are also opinions for all tastes: "Óscar is very nice and a person of integrity. They want us to see that the extreme right is the devil and I do not know if the extreme left is worse. All extremes are bad," says Fernando, the baker.

Antonio Iruela, a neighbor who left the town and returned as soon as he retired, maintains that Robles has worked the campaign and has been the only politician he has seen talking to the inhabitants: "The other day, after giving a talk, he invited a wine. It has had details that the rest have not had. Here we vote for the people, not the party."

A walk through the municipality with Robles denies that he is not known, because the neighbors stop him every minute to greet him or play some jokes.

"His choice was very successful. Now, we must improve the streets of the town so that visitors when they arrive do not see that it is a botched job. Young people need more employment and a place to meet and not be on the street all day, "claims David Martinez, a young bullfighter from Rascafría who came yesterday to shake his hand.

Because Robles has worked with the young people and did not hesitate to be out with them until 4 in the morning in the festivities of May 1, when the kids lifted with ropes a 25-meter trunk in the Plaza de la Villa, an ancestral tradition of the town.

'We need a change'

What the inhabitants of Rascafría do seem to agree on is the discontent with the former popular mayor Santiago Marcos. "If with the result that the PP has had in the regional elections he has not come out it is because he has not done well. The people wanted it that way," says another neighbor.

"He hasn't done anything. Like all mayors, they sit on the couch and get paid. We need an important change," confesses Adelaida Díaz, a Portuguese who owns a clothing store.

Against all odds, Robles refuses to speak ill of his predecessor: "He is a good person, but maybe he has not been able to make the right decisions or the team. People are unhappy, but you won't hear me speak ill of anyone because it's not my style."

Óscar Robles spent summers as a child in this municipality, located in one of the most beautiful enclaves in the region. 12 years ago, the Vox politician, married with two children, came to live in the town of his childhood.

Vox posters in the town of Valle del Lozoya.JOSÉ AYMÁ

Rascafría is located in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park and is surrounded by dream forests, waterfalls and natural pools, which causes an avalanche of tourists on weekends. The jewel in the crown is the Paular Monastery, which has been closed for nine years due to the inaction of the Ministry of Culture.

The talk continues and, at one point, the Vox politician begins to extol immigrants in the face of our perplexity.

-Here we have an important Romanian community. They are fantastic workers. We are in favor of all immigrants. Welcome. We embrace everyone," Robles says.

-Excuse me, but you do not look like Vox- we commented.

-There is a fantastic community of working people here. The one we don't like is that immigrant who storms fences and assaults the police. Those of Vox say loud and clear what many think and do not dare to say - he adds.

While we tour the town, the future councilor details his proposals: improve urban planning and visitor control and promote an industrial estate to attract companies. And he insists on the idea that he has repeated most times: "To govern the people you have to listen to the people. I'm a good person."

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