The Marbella city council had to be dissolved soon after his death, a legal but unprecedented movement in Spanish politics, to put an end to extreme corruption and dealings with international mafias, among other crimes.

[1] In 1987, Gil was elected president at football side Atlético Madrid (his first signing was that of 21-year-old Portuguese winger Paulo Futre), where he initiated a volatile relationship with fans, reporters, players and head coaches.

[3] In a March 1997 incident, as the two teams met in the 1996–97 Champions League quarterfinals, Gil referred to Ajax Amsterdam, due to its many players of Surinamese origin, as FC Congo.

[11] Gil was infamous and controversial for his extreme social and political views, summed up in a unique brand of foulmouthed, low-brow populism[12] punctuated by self-aggrandizing,[13] homophobic,[14][15] racist,[16][17] xenophobic and otherwise derogatory[18] remarks and, occasionally, by pre-democratic nostalgia.

The Málaga coastline, effectively under the area of economic and political influence of the Gil family, became a popular residence for British, Italian, and Russian gangsters while he was mayor, as well as a haven for former national socialists either awaiting or shirking extradition, such as Otto Remer and Léon Degrelle.

The improvements included the beatings of delinquents and prostitutes, relocation of foreigners with low incomes, and handouts of money to homeless people in exchange for leaving town.