In 2011, the municipal government inherited a city council on the verge of financial collapse, with a debt of 20 million euros and urban conflicts threatening to escalate the economic impact. The initial priority was to ensure the institution's viability and clean up the accounts, as debt payments absorbed most of the investment capacity.
Five years later, in 2016, the city still faced an uncertain scenario but began to establish the foundations for its recovery. This period was decisive for the locality, which successfully overcame the challenges. Management focused on spending containment and future planning, with decisions aimed at consolidating a more diversified economic model.
“"The recovery would not have been possible without having very clear ideas about where to invest and how to guide the city's growth, after years in which the priority had been exclusively to clean up the inherited situation."
The improvement of the general economic context and the progressive recovery of the ceramic sector contributed to this change in trend. From this point, Vila-real began an evolution that allowed it to stabilize its population above 50,000 inhabitants and significantly reduce its debt level, dropping from close to 80% to around 39%.
This process, based on spending containment and prudent management, marked the beginning of a new stage for the municipality, which today is the second-largest city by population in the province of Castellón and one of the most important municipalities in the Valencian Community due to its economic wealth and low unemployment rate.
