Ferran Montero, the favorite to succeed Miquel Oliver in Manacor

PalmThe councilor for Culture, Ferran Montero, is currently the favorite to replace Miquel Oliver as MÉS candidate in Manacor. The current mayor's move to insular politics – foreseeably, to the lists for the Consell de Mallorca – leaves an important void in the Consistory and has activated the speculation. Although nothing is official or closed and negotiations continue, sources from the party point to Montero as the most viable option for now, and everything suggests that he will team up with the also councilor for Public Spaces, Joana Maria Llull. Be that as it may, it is not the only possibility on the table, and any candidacy will be submitted to an internal primary process.

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For her part, Joana Maria Llull (1983) is a social educator and has recently taken on the coordination of MÉS Esquerra in the municipality. According to municipal sources consulted, Llull teams up with Montero. Although it has not been entirely decided who will be number one, the order could change and Llull could step forward with Montero as second. All in all, today, it is most likely that she will be the councilor's number two in the candidacy for the primary process that the formation will face during the month of June.

On the other hand, these names are not the only ones in the running. The name of Sebastià Llodrà also sounds, Oliver's right-hand man in the City Council and who is considered the most continuity option with the current mayor. The professor has been a councilor in the City Council for eleven years. He has extensive experience in the municipality, but he also suffers from the wear and tear of Oliver's term, points out a party source in the municipality.

This is the snapshot of the starting points of the race in a process in which the membership will have the final say. The group has formed an executive made up of twelve people who are holding meetings to choose a new candidacy and a strategy to face the 2027 elections, and all the profiles that appear in the running to replace Oliver are participating. The most important thing, MÉS sources assure, is that the final decision is made with minimal internal tensions. "They are complex changes," notes a source from the party's executive: "It is a challenge for the group, as Oliver is a figure who carries a lot of weight."

In fact, when consulted by ARA Balears, Oliver has avoided confirming the information and opting for a candidate, in addition to insisting on maintaining neutrality in the process. In a recent interview, he limited himself to pointing out that the head of the list will come from the current government team. This Wednesday, the formation has called the membership to an assembly to kick off the primaries. The mayor of Manacor won a councilor in the last elections, in a context of general decline for the left. With this result, Oliver has become one of the main cards in the hands of the eco-sovereignists for the next electoral cycle.