The mayor of Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelona) debuts her position as spokesperson for the PSC in the new party executive, which this weekend ratified Salvador Illa as first secretary and electoral candidate for 12-M. Her past in favor of a legal consultation in Catalonia and her protest against the application of 155 has been left behind: “We have turned the page. “We are in another context,” she says.
What made you accept the position of spokesperson for the PSC?
Salvador Illa is very seductive when he proposes responsibilities. At a time like the current one, being spokesperson for the party is an important personal challenge because it allows me to contribute to the electoral campaign that will lead to Illa, if the voters want it, be the next president.
What do you think Illa intends with you giving voice to the party?
So far, Illa has demonstrated choral leadership. In the last executive, I handled the issues of security and coexistence and I had absolute freedom to raise challenges in this matter, and I have always felt recognized and valued. This is one of the factors that mark their personality: getting the best out of each person.
How do you see the game regarding the time of the process and Iceta?
The party is now very cohesive. Miquel Iceta did an unbeatable job in a very difficult time of fracture and social polarization. But with Illa we are in a position, due to the cohesion of the party and the project, to promote the changes that Catalonia needs. Catalonia needs a solid Government with the capacity to change things, especially those that affect citizens.
You competed with Iceta and lost. How did you experience it?
Our party was the first to launch primaries, and without causing the party to break up. We were models. Iceta won but the people from my candidacy joined its executive. Those primaries allowed us to emerge stronger. Today the PSC is in good shape and with unbeatable leadership.
He was also on the PSOE executive and left it due to disagreement with the application of article 155...
That is quite far away and the decisions I made at that time are inconsequential today. We have turned the page, I hope, to the unilateral declaration of independence and the referendum, and both Illa and Sánchez represent a space for dialogue, for construction, for breaking polarization, the blocs, and offer a solvent project for Catalonia and for Spain.
Was your defense of a legal consultation something circumstantial?
Our party has long defended legal and agreed consultation. But today the consultation is also outdated. We are in another context. We have given the green light to the Amnesty law, which I hope will serve to put politics at the center and allow us to begin a new stage.
Will we have to convince that it will not return us to 2017?
Amnesty is a political tool for reconciliation and, above all, a show of forgiveness for what was done very wrong. We have provided a game board where reconciliation, forgiveness, and the beginning of a new stage must be the keys to the transformation of Catalonia.
Will the amnesty have electoral costs for the PSC?
I do not think so. The PSC has always been on the side of dialogue, reconciliation and breaking blocks and polarization, which is very negative for doing things and transforming the reality of citizens, and I think that today is what people want.
And the Koldo case?
We have always been implacable with corruption, always. Nobody can give us lessons in this.
How have you seen Illa's opposition work?
We have had a very responsible attitude. We have put the interests of Catalonia ahead of those of the party. This is the only way to explain the support for Aragonès' budgets. If we have elections it has not been because of the PSC, but because we have a president who is in a minority and who has not been able to reach agreements to guarantee the government.
Was this the right time for an election?
Now there is no other choice. Now citizens have to vote and choose between a Catalonia that prospers or remains anchored and enters a non-functional path. The Generalitat in recent years has not done its job. It's all excuses but it's not governed. And the city councils have felt very alone and neglected.
What do you think these elections will be about? Do you fear that they could go from Puigdemont and not from drought?
I think they have to go with a project, and Salvador has done a lot of work on this. He has traveled throughout Catalonia speaking with all important sectors of the country and has earned the trust of many people. That will be seen at the polls.
Do they prioritize a left-wing pact?
We don't have to talk about pacts now. We have to leave with the morale of victory. We have always been open to dialogue with all political forces but we address all voters, regardless of what they think and their ideology.
Also to those on the right and the independentists?
We want to address all voters who believe that Catalonia needs change.
Zapatero asked the independence movement to let Illa govern if she wins the elections...
It would be reasonable.
You are a reference in the party in the field of security.
Security is a first-order public policy, like education or health. The system must be based on coordination between security forces and, above all, on the recognition and prestige of these bodies. Security must be comprehensive, but police action is essential for residents to feel safe and accompanied.
What has the Government failed in?
The Government has improvised too much in security policies, although it has somewhat re-established its relationship with the Mossos after too long a period in which they have not been considered much.
