Big public demonstration demands better transport links for 'forgotten' Ronda towns and villages

The organisers of the protest repeated their calls for the urgent repair of the landslide-blocked San Pedro road link to the Costa del Sol and a motorway connection with Malaga city

Antonio M. Romero

Ronda

Monday, 7 April 2025 | Updated 08/04/2025 14:19h.

Local residents, businesses and politicians of the Serranía de Ronda raised their voices on Saturday to demand an improvement in transport links, especially for the area's road network. Thousands of people from the area took to the streets in a massive demonstration in Ronda to denounce the current situation, which has been worsened by the closure of the A-397 road that connects with San Pedro Alcántara as a result of the landslide onto a road bridge following heavy rains. They also marched to demand a firm commitment from the governing bodies to remedy the current shortfall in mobility, as the issues with moving around the area are a burden for the economic and social development of an iconic area in Malaga province that is losing population.

The march was organised by Apymer, the local association for small and medium-sized businesses in Ronda and Campillos, in collaboration with the Autovía Ya protest group that is pushing for the motorway link with Malaga city. The demonstration was attended by both people from Ronda itself and the towns and villages of the surrounding Serranía area. This was very much a demonstration led by the public in which Local Police put the number of participants at 2,500, the National Police claimed there were only 1,200 while other sources consulted calculated that, at the height of the demonstration, there were around 4,000 participants, which is a significant figure for an area where some 50,000 people live. In addition, older people consulted by SUR pointed out that they could not recall there ever being such a well-attended demonstration.

Imagen principal - Big public demonstration demands better transport links for 'forgotten' Ronda towns and villages — Salvador Salas

Imagen secundaria 1 - Big public demonstration demands better transport links for 'forgotten' Ronda towns and villages — Salvador Salas

Imagen secundaria 2 - Big public demonstration demands better transport links for 'forgotten' Ronda towns and villages

This street protest, accompanied by the sound of whistles, was led by a banner reading 'Urgent repair of the San Pedro road! Road improvement and motorway now! More investment in infrastructure and less empty promises'. Other banners were carried by individuals with messages such as 'Lies don't build roads', 'Less excuses, more motorways', 'Less chit-chat and more roads', 'Without roads there is no daily bread' and 'Andalucía in 2025: Five hours by car daily to work 45 kilometres away. Enough is enough'.

Likewise, those present chanted slogans denouncing that the area is "forgotten", that Ronda is "a first class town with third class roads", that proper transport links are fundamental for the future of its young people and demanded that the president of the Junta de Andalucía fulfil his commitment to build the promised motorway. 'Moreno Bonilla, we want a motorway', they shouted over and over again.

As mentioned before, this was a march led by the people, although it was also attended by politicians from different parties but they were not at the head of the parade. Among them, the mayors of Ronda (Maripaz Fernández), Cañete la Real (Andrés Morón), both from PP, then Arriate (Francisco Javier Anet) and Serrato (Francisco López), both from PSOE.

The demonstration made its way slowly down the popular Calle de La Bola shopping street. Upon reaching its final destination, Apymer's secretary, Antonio Palma, was in charge of reading a manifesto that denounced the "fragility" of communications in the area and demanded that the different governing institutions make a firm commitment to the Serranía, far removed from partisan disputes.

"The improvement of our roads and especially the construction of the motorway from Ronda to Malaga are not luxuries, but vital needs for the economic, social and cultural development of the Serranía. These are questions of territorial balance, social justice and basic rights", the organisers pointed out in the manifesto.

A manifesto which stressed that the situation has become "unsustainable" and denounced the "repeated" non-fulfilment of electoral promises, the institutional "abandonment" of the area "as if we were second-class citizens" and the "unjustifiable" paralysis of the project for the motorway to the provincial capital.

For this reason, protesters demanded, firstly, a comprehensive plan to improve the roads of the Serranía with specific deadlines, adequate budgets and guarantees of execution. Next, that "all possible efforts" be made for the urgent re-opening of the A-397 (known as the 'daily bread road' linking Ronda with the Costa del Sol), as well as direct aid to companies and workers affected by this road's temporary closure. Also, improvement plans for all the roads in the area and modernisation of the most dangerous sections, especially on the roads to Seville, El Burgo and Algeciras. In addition, "definitive progress without further delay" on the dual carriageway to Malaga with the establishment of a "clear" timetable for its development with the "immediate" allocation of the necessary resources to start work "now" and, lastly, the extension of the dual carriageways from Utrera and Arcos de la Frontera towards the Serranía de Ronda.

"We demand a firm commitment in writing from the competent administrations, with a timetable of actions and a commitment to the corresponding budget allocation. This is not about building four kilometres of motorway every 10 years. It is about having a firm commitment from everyone in the medium term. Stop elbowing each other and start working together for this area", they stressed in this message addressed to the governing bodies, asking them to take mobility out of their party squabbles.

The organisers also announced that there will be further demonstrations if their "just and necessary" demands are not met. "We cannot continue to accept that our area is cut off every time it rains heavily, that our young people have to leave because they cannot travel daily to study or work in safe conditions, that our companies lose competitiveness due to the extra costs of transport or that our elderly see their access to basic services such as healthcare limited due to the precariousness of our roads. Enough is enough", they stated.

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