Inside Spain's Ohio: The province that gets every election right

Inside Spain's Ohio: The province that gets every election right
By Ana Buil Demur
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This small region of Spain has mirrored exactly the reults of the national vote in almost every election for fifty years

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Robres is a village that draws a lot of attention during elections. Nestled in the province of Aragon, some call this place the Spanish Ohio

Since the return of democracy to Spain, Robres has mirrored the national vote in almost every Spanish election.

But, it’s a trend that began to falter in 2015, when the emergence of new parties put an end to the two-party system.

But what does it mean to be the Spanish Ohio?

Ignacio Jurado, Professor at the University of York, and co-author of the book "Aragon is our Ohio", says, "to be the Spanish Ohio means to be a region wherein the winner is the same party that wins in the state as a whole.

He adds, "the example of Ohio is used because in the United States, since the 60s, the winner in Ohio, in the presidential elections, has always been the same one that has won the elections in the United States as a whole.

"In Spain we have a particular Ohio, which is Aragon."

He says the reason behind it is simple; "Aragón represents Spain on a smaller scale”.

"The province has urban areas, it's capital Zaragoza is the fifth city in Spain, but, at the same time, Aragon has empty Spain, rural Spain, such as Teruel.

"Aragon is an Autonomous Community with its own identity, which is not like the most nationalistic communities, such as Catalonia, but it does not represent the more Spanish ones either, it is a bit of a middle point.

Euronews spoke to those planning to vote for a range of parties, including Podemos and Ciudadanos, though nobody was forthcoming about voting for the People’s Party, nor the right wing Vox party.

Olga Brosed, Mayor of Robres says that whilst she is happy to see her town on the map, residents are growing bored of the cliché.

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