In Logroño (La Rioja) on 12 August 2026, the spokesperson for the government team at Logroño City Council, Celia Sanz, reaffirmed that the city’s departments and the Mesa de Contratación are monitoring compliance with legal requirements in the tender process for stalls at Mercado de San Blas . Sanz said any irregularities would be noted in the Mesa de Contratación’s technical and legal reports. She stressed the distinction between political communications and the independent professional work of the review bodies. This was reported by Europa Press.
The public clarification was prompted by criticism from Partido Socialista on 11 August, which points to possible distortions of competition in the ongoing process. According to the opposition, there is a risk that related bidders could secure more stalls for one interest group than the rules allow. In Logroño, the relevant documents are the pliego de prescripciones técnicas for the specific tender, as well as the overarching provisions of the Ley de Contratos del Sector Público. The city council says the review process is formalised and not subject to political direction.
The formal procedure requires the Mesa de Contratación to first check that submitted bids are complete and comply with the pliego de prescripciones técnicas. The body comprises technical and legal representatives of the administration and prepares assessment reports, which provide the basis for the proposed decision to be submitted to the Junta de Gobierno Local Only on this basis can a recommendation on the award be made. If the Mesa de Contratación identifies breaches—for example, exceeding the maximum limits per bidder—it records them in writing; affected bids may be excluded.
The city is thus pointing to an established system of checks intended to ensure transparency in procurement. Until the review reports are published, political assessments of possible concentrations of interests should be regarded as the positions of third parties. No final outcome in the ongoing tender process had been made public by the editorial deadline. Its further progress will therefore depend on the forthcoming assessments by the Mesa de Contratación and the decision of the Junta de Gobierno Local. For traders and residents of Mercado de San Blas, the key issue is that the procedures are conducted transparently and lawfully—an undertaking the city leadership has expressly reiterated by referring to the relevant checks.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).