Wedding Bells ring out for a PP–PSOE Coalition in Valencia

Jesús Salmerón and Borja Martínez celebrated their wedding with family, friends and colleagues from across the political spectrum.

Jesús Salmerón, the Partido Popular mayor of Gátova, and Borja Martínez, a Socialist councillor in neighbouring Serra, married on Saturday 7 November in a ceremony that brought together figures from across Valencian municipal politics.

The couple, who are foster parents, were joined by family and friends as well as colleagues from several town halls. Guests included Serra mayor Alicia Tusón, Olocau mayor Antonio Ropero, Mislata mayor Carlos Fernández Bielsa and former Marines mayor Lola Celda.

In an opinion piece dedicated to his husband after the wedding, Martínez offered a wry take on the interest in their relationship. “Some people think that a socialist and a conservative are doomed to never get along. We decided to get married,” he wrote.

Salmerón leads Gátova Town Council for the Partido Popular, while Martínez represents the Valencian Socialist Party, the PSPV, in Serra. Martínez said they still debate politics and defend their own views. “You don’t have to think alike to walk in the same direction,” he wrote.

He also drew on the language of local government to describe married life. “At home there are no winners or losers, no absolute majorities or investiture pacts,” he said. Their day-to-day concerns, he added, are the familiar ones of sharing responsibilities and making decisions together.

The family they have built together

Martínez also wrote about becoming a foster parent. Their son came to them through the child protection system, an experience he said had changed how both men understood parenthood. For the couple, fostering means giving a child care, security and a sense of belonging while respecting his history and existing family ties.

Martínez said he wanted families like theirs to be able to live with dignity and respect. He also reflected on Spain’s legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2005, a change that made it possible for the couple to marry and that he said should never be taken for granted.

The two Valencian towns remain central to their story. Through their work in Gátova and Serra, Martínez said, both men had learned how much local politics depends on listening to residents and being available when people need help.

Looking around at the guests on their wedding day, Martínez saw people with different backgrounds, political views and experiences who had come together to celebrate with them. That prompted a question in his piece. “At what point did we start confusing thinking differently with having to live in conflict?”

He said he hoped their son would grow up confident enough to defend his own views and willing to listen to people who see things differently. Above all, he wants him to know that family is built by showing up for one another.

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