Josep Maria Jové and Lluís Salvadó are part of the group of senior Government officials from 2017 who still have pending accounts with the courts. This morning, the Prosecutor's Office has requested seven years in prison for the first, who was number 2 of Oriol Junqueras in Economy, and six and a half for the second, former secretary of Hisenda, for his responsibility in the preparations for 1-O and the called state structures. Both are charged with a crime of aggravated embezzlement.
Both are in the circle of trust of the former vice president of the Generalitat and enjoy a long political career, both in the sphere of the party -Esquerra- and in the administration. Currently, Josep Maria Jové is the president of the ERC parliamentary group in the Catalan chamber, while Lluís Salvadó has directed the Port of Barcelona since last December, when several changes in office took place after the departure of Junts from the Government.
During the term led by Carles Puigdemont, Jové and Salvadó were two heavyweights in the Department of Economy, under the leadership of Junqueras. In fact, the Prosecutor's Office considers them one of the architects of the 1-O referendum, due to their role in the preparations, and also attributes to them the leading role in the formulation of State structures. On September 20, 2017, in the framework of a police operation to stop the vote, they were arrested by the Civil Guard, as were twelve other senior officials, such as the current Minister of Culture, Natàlia Garriga, for whom the Prosecutor's Office requests a fine and disqualification.
Jové was in charge of the General Secretariat of the Economy at that time. He was the right hand of the minister of the branch and vice president, Oriol Junqueras. Due to her management at that time around the process, the Public Ministry requests seven years in prison. Before becoming number 2 of Junqueras, he had already had a relevant role within ERC, where he began to serve in 1998. Since 2011 he has presided over its National Council, one of the most important participation bodies in the formation. During the tripartites of Pasqual Maragall and José Montilla, Jové already passed through the Generalitat: first as chief of staff of External Actions, dependent on the Secretariat for Interdepartmental Coordination (Presidency), and later as director of sectoral policies of the Presidency and Vice presidency.
Over the years, Jové has gained more prominence within the party, until he became the top representative of the Republicans in Parliament, where he held his seat for the first time in 2018.
Lluís Salvadó, now president of the Port of Barcelona, began his career in the municipal world. He was mayor of La Ràpita between 1996-1998, a council in which he was also a councilor for nine more years. He has been an Esquerra militant since the early 90s, he already enjoyed influence in the party even before the arrival of Junqueras and Marta Rovira at the controls in 2011. He acquired even more from that moment. In the republican formation, he was attached to Rovira for eight years, while he now holds the position of deputy general secretary for internal communication.
Between 2016 and 2017 he held the position of secretary of Hisenda. From this responsibility, he launched the modernization of the Tax Agency of Catalonia, with the start-up of the E-spriu program, conceived for the management of all the taxes paid in Catalonia, something that the public prosecutor's office now reproaches him for case opened against him in the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia.
Before his time at Economy, he had been the Government delegate in Terres de l'Ebre (2004-2010). From 2012 until the end of 2022, when he went to the Port, he held a seat in Parliament, both with ERC and with the Junts pel Sí coalition.
The Minister of Culture, Natàlia Garriga, is also among those charged by the TSJC for her responsibilities in the months prior to 1-O. At that time, she was the director of services in Economics. The Prosecutor's Office now accuses her of disobedience, which can lead to disqualification and a fine (she asks that it be 18,000 euros).
He started working in 1989 at the Catalan Institute of Agrarian Credit, dependent on the Generalitat. Later, in the Department of the Presidency of the Government, he held positions in the field of interdepartmental coordination. Between 2007 and 2016, just before entering Economics, he was manager of the Catalan Institute of Cultural Enterprises.
Prior to his appointment to the Executive Council in May 2021, he was on the board of directors of the National Theater of Catalonia and the Cultural Initiative Support Office.
