The expression red belt () is used to designate in the Community of Madrid, since the return to democracy in the last decades of the 20th century, the set of cities located in the southern part of the metropolitan area of the city of Madrid, characterized by their high population of workers or the working class and because of their long history with mayors of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party or other left parties and coalitions such as the Communist Party of Spain or the United Left. The municipalities represent a total of 21% of the population residing in the Community of Madrid, with six out of the ten most populated municipalities of the region belonging to the red belt. The name is also used to talk about the southern districts of the city of Madrid.
As of the 2010s, there was also talk in the region of a "purple belt" in reference to the emergence, with a notable implantation in the red belt, of the new Podemos party, whose color is purple instead of the traditional red of the left-wing parties.
Municipalities of the Madrilenian "red belt" MunicipalityPopulation (2024)Current mayorTerm startParty (2023-2027)Parties in local government since 1979NotesAlcorcón174 740 (7th)Candelaria Testa2023PSOE (Coalition) 1979-1999; 2003-2011; 2019-currentArganda del Rey59 209 (21st)Alberto Escribano2023PP (Coalition) 1979-1999 1999-2003; 2015-2023Coslada80 688 (16th)Ángel Viveros2015PSOE (Coalition) 1982-1983 1983-1999 1999-2003; 2007-2011; 2015-currentFuenlabrada190 496 (6th)Javier Ayala2018PSOE (Majority) 1979-currentNever has had a conservative mayor.Getafe191 560 (5th)Sara Hernández2015PSOE (Coalition) 1979-2011; 2015-currentLeganés193 934 (4th)Miguel Ángel Recuenco2023PP (Coalition) 1979-2007; 2007-2011; 2015-2023Mejorada del Campo24 632 (33rd)Jorge Capa2015PSOE (Majority) 1978-1982 1982-1995 1995-1999 1999-2011; 2015-currentMóstoles213 268 (2nd)Manuel Bautista2023PP (Coalition) 1979-2003; 2015-2023Parla134 876 (9th)Ramón Jurado2019PSOE (Coalition) 1979-2015; 2019-currentPinto55 989 (23rd)Salomón Aguado2023PP (Coalition) 1979-1987 1987-1995 1995-2007; 2008-2011 2015-2019 2019-2023Rivas-Vaciamadrid101 637 (11th)Aída Castillejo2022IU (Coalition) 1987-1991 1991-currentNever has had a conservative mayor.San Fernando de Henares38 969 (25th)Francisco Javier Corpa2019PSOE (Majority) 1979-1991 1991-1995 1995-20152015-2019 2019-currentNever has had a conservative mayor.San Martín de la Vega20 664 (36th)Rafael Martínez2015PSOE (Majority) 1979-2007; 2015-currentVelilla de San Antonio14 008 (47th)Antonia Alcázar2015PSOE (Coalition) 1987-2009; 2015-current
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