Mònica Roca is the first woman to preside over the Chamber of Barcelona in 137 years and she likes to describe herself as a scientist, engineer and entrepreneur. He almost always wears a pendant around his neck with the estelada, he has just received explicit support from former president Puigdemont and the Council of the Republic and, as four years ago, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) has mobilized to try to revalidate the pro-independence majority. at the head of the institution.
In this campaign, Roca forms a tandem with the first vice president, Toni Fitó, lawyer and businessman, from the fifth generation of the family that owns Semillas Fitó, one of the most important agri-food groups in Catalonia. In addition, he is an executive director of the firm Pere Quart, with which he participates in the Chamber. Roca, a telecommunications engineer, does so with IsardSat, a company specialized in processing data from Earth observation satellites and in solutions for climate change mitigation. She recognizes herself as “a lover of space” who was lucky enough to work for ten years at the European Space Agency in the Netherlands.
The promoters of the Eines list of País-Un Pas Més reiterate that they have not decided who will be the next president, in the event of winning again. But except for a surprise move, the decision is between Roca and Fitó.
With the president focused on the institutional tasks of the position, Fitó has carried out a great representation activity in other organizations. He is, among other things, vice president of the Barcelona Arbitration Court, patron of the Fundació Barcelona Nàutica AC24, co-organizing entity of the 37th edition of the America's Cup, and for almost two years he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fundació Bancària la Caixa, where The Chamber takes turns with other business organizations to occupy one of the positions.
Roca and Fitó have not achieved the hand-to-hand combat they wanted with Josep Santacreu, whom they challenged to publicly debate their programs and affirm that their intention is to give continuity to the management. “We have completed four years of good management, with rigor and transparency, during which we have democratized the Chamber, we have decentralized it, we have helped more than 50,000 companies to digitalize, internationalize, modernize or train, we have increased the asset value of the entity and helped in the worst moments of the pandemic,” says the president. They want to continue in this line. “And to do so by claiming what belongs to us as a country, convinced that the best economic policy for our productive fabric is to have our own State,” says Fitó.
“We are companies from here, that have not left and will not leave Catalonia and that, therefore, are clear about the interests that must be represented, promoted and defended,” says the vice president. Although they flee from euphoria, the two see themselves as winners, although also conciliators. “Once the elections are over, we will work hand in hand with each and every one of the companies and self-employed workers who access the plenary session,” he says.
