Independent Liberal Group
Independent Liberal Group Grupo Independiente Liberal | |
---|---|
Founder | Jesús Gil |
Founded | 1991 |
Dissolved | 2007 |
Headquarters | Marbella, Spain |
Ideology | Populism |
Political position | Far-right |
The Independent Liberal Group (Spanish: Grupo Independiente Liberal, GIL) was a far-right-wing Spanish political party. It was founded in 1991. Its founder was the convicted businessman Jesús Gil y Gil, who was mayor of Marbella in the Costa del Sol. The name in Spanish GIL is a play on words, as it references the surname of the party's founder Jesus Gil.
GIL ruled Marbella since 1991 on a platform of fighting petty crime and public works of ornament. At the same time, Marbella was known as a refuge for British, Italian and Russian crime lords. After Gil was removed by Spanish tribunal on charges of political corruption, Julián Muñoz (also known for his romance with singer Isabel Pantoja) ruled the city. He was later ousted by GIL members supporting Marisol Yagüe Reyes with the help of a turncoat Spanish Socialist Workers' Party councillor who had been a vocal critic of corruption.
In March 2006, Yagüe and most of her team were brought to trial on charges of corruption about urban development and planning permssion.
In April 2006, the Spanish government started the procedure to forcibly dissolve council of Marbella, an unprecedented movement in the recent Spanish democracy.
GIL also established a strong presence in Estepona, Ceuta and Melilla.