form of colonialism," he said.

More than four decades later, the absence of state investment, transport infrastructure and employment opportunities has done nothing to slow down the depopulation process, with Guitarte pointing to the vast areas of Teruel - "around 40 percent still lacking any kind of internet broadband coverage" - as one example of ongoing institutional neglect.

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Should Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez finally succeed in forming a government this week, he has promised universal broadband across Spain, as well as stepping up rural health care.

But the most striking example of Teruel's abandonment is surely the transport sector. Spain is famous for having the greatest length of high-speed railways per inhabitant in the world, but when Madrid's high-speed train connection to Valencia was constructed in the early 2000s, pleas forit to go through Teruel fell on deaf ears.

As for the double-track railway offered in compensation, it has never been built, while a video published by Teruel Existe in 2018 of a tractor overtaking the province's one ultra-slow train, travelling at around 30km/h, remains a Spanish social media hit.

Repeated requests for comment made to Spain's Ministry of Transport and Development for this report were unsuccessful.

Sick of empty promises, Guitarte's decision to head for Madrid as an MP followed an epiphany of sorts.

"We realised we need to be in the seat of power to get anything done," he said. "We've had demonstrations, we've signed petitions. They haven't worked. Getting into Parliament, with the backing of the people, feels like Teruel's last throw of the dice."

Nearly 600 kilometres (370 miles)