Joan Ribó (Manresa, 1947) receives La Vanguardia at the Compromís headquarters. In a difficult week for the candidates and full of electoral debates, he answers the questions and talks about his proposals for Valencia, as well as the criticism that the right wing makes on issues such as mobility, security or his opposition to the expansion of the port of Valencia. He does not like that the cap i casal has become a coveted piece for the big parties and he asks to focus the debate on the successes and problems of the city. In addition, he warns of gentrification and assumes that more could have been done in social housing in these eight years.
Valencia has turned these municipal elections into the jewel in the crown along with Seville and Barcelona. The three cities will be the squares that will settle who wins and who loses the next 28M. How do you live this challenge of keeping the city to the left?
We want to continue with a left-wing government, but this perception has a component that I don't like and that is that, in a way, the city seems like the training ground for the final battle that will be the general elections at the end of the year. We have to worry about the city and the problems between Mr. Sánchez and Mr. Feijóo and all the gentlemen of Madrid, which seem very important to me, will be dealt with in due course. Now let's dedicate ourselves to the issues of Valencia.
It seems that in Spain there is a certain interest, especially from the PP, and also from the PSOE, in turning these elections into plebicitaries and that can distract from municipal affairs.
I think it's a very clear strategy. I have to criticize both Feijóo's permanent attempts to raise state issues and Sánchez's to make announcements on national issues as if he were campaigning. I believe that the time for bipartisanship is over and it is not good for it to return.
We do not want to leave this question without asking if you are concerned that debates such as the Bildu lists contaminate the municipal ones. Does it worry you?
It is another element of distraction. In Valencia, as far as I know, there is no Bildu candidacy. There are people who, paraphrasing Vázquez Montalbán, endorse the phrase 'against ETA we lived better'. It seems that they need ETA, because otherwise they lose their identity.
For the right, winning the city again would mean taking a giant step towards the hegemony lost in 2015. Do you see a risk of change?
Honestly, in the city I don't see too much risk of change. The situation is very close to that of 2015 and 2019 when we won by the minimum, with and without Podemos. I think we will win again, although not by a significant difference. I don't see a desire for change on the street.
Compromís has always wanted the regional ones to be held together with the municipal ones. That did not happen four years ago when Puig advanced them to join the generals. This time they do go together. Are you convinced that this favors Compromís?
We have an important municipal force and I think that this will favor us. I also have to say that voters are people who differ a lot, but it is true that our proposals at the regional and municipal level have the same approaches to issues such as dependency, mobility, care...
In this campaign there has been an element of friction with Podem. In fact, from the purple formation, many criticisms have been made of Compromís as a result of the famous act of presentation of Sumar de Yolanda Díaz. How do you assess this controversy? Do you think it could have been avoided?
Yeah, I think we could have saved it. Unides Podem has magnified this issue. Everyone knows my good relationship with Yolanda. It is clear that we are not in a situation to talk about Sumar, but from the 28th we will have to. Sumar means many things and, also, talking to Podem, that's obvious. However, we have to know how to distinguish and not get nervous. There are people who get very nervous because they can lose many votes and it is very difficult. We like to have Yolanda's presence because we identify with her, but we are not jealous and we understand that we are not the only ones who identify with her.
Enric Juliana and Iván Redondo have a theory: there will be no Botànic if Compromís is not far above Vox. Do you share that thought?
In the city it is clear that we will achieve it. At the regional level I think so too. It seems that there is a part of Ciudadanos that could vote for Vox. I don't know the data on what will happen in Alicante, but I am convinced that we will have a greater weight than Vox can have.
Would you like UP to have representation in the Valencia City Council on this occasion?
It would be very good for me because we share many things. That being said, all the indicators and most surveys say that this possibility is very low. I would like to but it doesn't seem likely. And I think that many Podem voters are making this approach.
And what would you say to those voters?
Let them vote conscientiously.
8 years have passed since you were mayor of Valencia, have you achieved those challenges that you set yourself in 2015?
I have achieved some and others that I have not yet due to the effects of the pandemic, such as the reform of the Palau de la Música. There are challenges that have been resolved, such as making Valencia a city without corruption; clean up the accounts of the City Council; that social services reach the majority of people who request them; make a city of squares and lower unemployment levels.
And what would be the objectives that have not yet been achieved?
We must continue with the issue of employment; care for the elderly and redirect tourism towards hotel tourism with fewer apartments and cruise ships; although the most important objective is housing. We have to work together with other Administrations to achieve affordable rental housing. The fact that Valencia appears in international magazines saying that it is the city where people live best in the world has its positive consequences, but also negative ones. More than half of the houses that have been bought in Valencia are in the hands of foreigners.
Would you be in favor of placing limits on this purchase by non-residents?
Yes, but that's not up to me. I believe that we must control the Golden Visa and introduce mechanisms to control speculators and vulture funds, it seems essential to me. If a few years ago the slogan was VPO, now whoever can buy should buy, but the main thing is that it can be rented.
How do you explain to the voter that fact of having built only 14 VPOs in 8 years?
They are not 14. They are 130-odd. I admit that there are not many, but it must be recognized that this issue has exploded after the covid. I think Aumsa has to do more, but she has worked a lot from rent aid to buying homes or rehabilitation.
But Mayor, it's hard to understand that a left-wing government has developed so little on an issue like social housing.
I do self-criticism, but we have done things, but we have to push harder. We have realized that the bull was coming two years ago.
The other day, in the Cadena Ser debate, the opposition made ugly the data on the increase in crime. Is Valencia a safe city?
Yes. If we compare the data from the Ministry of the Interior, Valencia is, together with Zaragoza, the two cities where crime has grown the least between 21 and 22. In addition, it is the only capital in Spain where sexual crimes have decreased, specifically , 2.1%. The PP has not made any police opposition in 10 years and we have a large number of agents on the street.
The opposition is now talking about redesigning the bike lanes for security reasons. Are they insecure?
There are some that should be improved, for example, some crossroads like the one on Cuenca street when you get to the Police station. There are others that go along the sidewalk and they would have to get off, but they are not from now. The current ones generally work fine. The consumer and user organization has recognized that Valencia is the city where the bike lanes in all of Spain work best and are best articulated.
Will you continue with the idea of pedestrianizing squares and streets?
Of course.
Will they bet on the super islands?
I think it can be done in another way. I want to make the schools the center of the neighborhood; an open school where the sports areas can be used in the afternoon and the surrounding areas pedestrianized. Most of the public space is designed for the car and, little by little, it must be changed, with the invaluable help of the metropolitan transport that must improve significantly.
Another problem of the city is the gentrification of the center. The local government has taken measures, the other day the vice mayor and PSPV candidate, Sandra Gómez, asked for a moratorium on tourist apartments...
The answer is now. We have been asking for it for a long time. We think that the moratorium in the downtown area has to be extended to the entire city.
What should be the tourist model of Valencia to avoid dying of success?
The first measure is the control of tourist apartments. The second, the control of the cruises. I'm not saying they don't come, but we can't have a couple or three a day. The third approach is to defend local commerce in a very clear way; and a fourth, the tourist tax. I think it is essential to put it.
You have been very forceful with the port of Valencia and against its expansion. Do you think that the change at the helm of the Port Authority can help loosen the institutional relationship between both administrations?
The previous Port Authority had become entrenched on some issues, although there were agreements on issues such as the Parque de Desembocadura or the Llevant UD sports complex. I hope that in the enlargement debate we can reach a solution. A new Environmental Impact Statement is needed to study the damages of the expansion for the city and analyze how they can be alleviated.
How do you assess these years of government shared with the PSPV?
Good, generally good. We have been the City Council that has previously approved the budgets and we have jointly voted 99% of the votes.
And how do you feel when your deputy mayor says that this city needs someone with more drive and drive?
What do you want me to feel? He is a young person who perhaps does not know the mechanisms of a coalition government that requires, in addition to experience, patience. Impetuosity is surely not the best mechanism to manage a coalition government. Still, I understand that she wants to be mayor, it's a perfectly reasonable goal for any head of the list.
You have said on more than one occasion that your objective is for the left to continue governing. If the Government were to be reissued, would you change the management areas?
I think it's good, after eight years, that we make an effort so that nobody spends forever on the same issues. Positions have to be moved. Whoever has the most councilors is the one who has to have the Mayor's Office and, from there, we have to start talking without prior conditions.
Do you see Guiseppe Grezzi outside Mobility or Fuset, from Cultura Festiva?
Absolutely yes. And Glòria Tello out of Culture.
The PP candidate says that Valencia has to surpass Barcelona and the mayor of Madrid points out that Malaga is better off. Should Valencia measure itself against other cities?
I think when you do these things, you show an inferiority complex about who you're comparing yourself to. Valencia must overcome these complexes; We have to say that we are a wonderful city with its own personality that we have to develop from what we are. I think it's wonderful that Malaga does things well, Paco Latorre is a great mayor with whom I am a friend, even though he is from the PP. I'm not worried about Málaga moving forward, the important thing is that we develop this city based on ourselves and our potential.
You have a very good relationship with Ada Colau. How do you see the situation of Barcelona in these elections?
It's all very even. I think Ada Colau has done a great job and I hope she can continue. There the PSC has left the government to oppose it, here it has not happened. In that we are different and I like the difference.
