President of the Alcolea district council and now local coordinator of UI. Why have you gotten into this mess?
Well, I am acting president because when I was appointed by IU I made my position available for ethics reasons, but the council asked me to stay while someone else is appointed. And I've gotten into this because I love working with people and helping others. My phone is always available to anyone who needs professional advice or help. I believe that politics is social dialogue and empathy. I thought I could contribute, contribute a grain of sand in a complicated political landscape, where speeches that I reject are being given from the extreme right. I don't want that society for my son, nor for the rest of the people. If my contribution is useful for something, I am there.
IU criticizes "the abandonment of the peripheral neighborhoods" in this mandate, have you experienced that abandonment in the first person?
The peripheral neighborhoods have always suffered a certain amount of neglect and with the pandemic it has intensified. We suffer the closure of civic centers, which prevent us from traveling to Córdoba to do paperwork. Alcolea is made up of widely dispersed towns and an older population for whom this proximity to public services is essential. Since PP and Cs came to the City Council, citizen participation has been chaotic and human resources in that area have greatly limited. The periphery, which has officially increased its population by 3% --in fact it has grown more-- is very abandoned and needs investment in public services.
She practices law and will make it compatible with the coordination work of IU. Shouldn't politicians always do that: keep working on their thing?
Whenever possible, it should be done. It is important to maintain the professional work of each one and that this is considered, if you have to do without that work, a finite activity and that when the political stage is over you can return to your work.
After years of the IU being the majority force in Córdoba, it lost its pace and has not recovered. What causes caused the fall and what do you think is the current situation in the capital?
It could be that there was wear and tear among the citizens. Perhaps we did not know how to arrive or listen to the neighbors. I think that now we are in a different situation, and we have been betting on people for some time, on recovering the voice of the neighborhoods and listening. Politicians cannot be in offices, they have to be on the street. If we help solve problems, which is ultimately what the public asks of a City Council, I am convinced that we will be strong and the results will improve.
How do you overcome detachment from politics from a position like yours?
There is detachment but I also see that people move, so what we have to do is listen to them. If we give it a voice we can get that detachment to become attachment. Even if we think not, there is politics even in line at a greengrocer. What you have to do is make room for people.
How are your colleagues doing the opposition work in the City Hall?
I have nothing but good words about them. They have done a great job and have managed to uncover corruption situations in this government, also giving alternatives and proposals. I only have good words both for Amparo Pernichi, who recently passed away, and for the newcomer, Antonio de la Rosa, who I am sure will continue this line of work. The municipal group is fundamental and the organization is shoulder to shoulder with them.
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Do you already know for sure if you will go to the 2023 municipal elections as Unidas Podemos or if you will go it alone again?
The line of work we have is to work together with Podemos. In fact, we are already doing it in the City Hall. We are also open to a project that fits all the organizations that want to join the project. We believe in that unity. IU, in itself, is still the union of various organizations. We are open to add.
Before the municipal ones, there is the appointment of the autonomic ones, where the left attends fragmented.
We are open to presenting ourselves as a broad social front. The doors are open.
Although the experience in the last regional legislature with the umbrella of Adelante Andalucía was not good?
Yes, our line of work is to create a wide space, whoever wants to be there will be there.
Aren't they exaggerating when they say that José María Bellido is the worst mayor of democracy in Córdoba?
We are not exaggerating at all. He is a mayor who is very present in photos and in marketing, but when it comes down to it, what is he doing? He has 185 million unexecuted in the drawer. Why haven't you executed the projects? Without these projects, the economy does not move or jobs are created. He has a young employment plan that he has not executed either. Is that being a good mayor? It is the first time that there have been cases of corruption in the City Council: the Infrastructure case, which we believe will go beyond the imputation of the former coordinator; the case of Eva Timoteo, or that of Isabel Albás, with the Imtur invoices, difficult to explain. We have the City Council with the highest positions with an annual cost of almost 3 million. This City Council is living on the projects of the PSOE and IU government. What are the new projects? In the pandemic, it had an opportunity to help families and SMEs and it has not invested that remainder. What is the mayor waiting for?
What does Córdoba need and what is its political formation willing to offer it?
We want a sustainable city model and work for the social economy and employment, although we are aware that the City Council does not have these powers, we can arbitrate mechanisms to promote that economy. We want an egalitarian society, 100% feminist, much more just, social and democratic, which has people at the center.
Will your political commitment be limited to the organic coordination of IU or do you aspire to make the leap to institutional representation?
Right now I'm only for organic, although I'm always available to the UI. My intention is to work, work and work so that we can once again govern the Córdoba City Council and implement those social policies. h