Eight people have presented their candidacy to become Síndic de Greuges de Barcelona, a responsibility that currently falls to Maria Assumpció Vilà . Consuming his second term, Vilà will leave office in July.
Their replacement will be determined by a very traditional system: it is up to the plenary, that is, the municipal groups and their potential alliances, to choose the new defender of the people of Barcelona, but in the initial phase they may receive support from entities and citizens, despite which is not binding.
What is binding is which candidate elicits the necessary support to be appointed: he needs the vote of 27 of the 41 councilors. That is, a pact between at least three groups.
From January 15 to March 15, the consultation period was open for the proposal of candidates, who have been presented by entities. In 2016, five people applied for receivership. This time there are eight. Between April 19 and May 19, the support phase for entities and individuals opens, which can be specified on the Decidim.Barcelona website. In parallel, a municipal communication campaign will be developed to publicize the candidates and the election process.
The designation system
This initial phase was added to the process in 2016 . In principle, it means making the institution known, and although the city council describes it in a statement as a way to “enhance the mechanisms of active democracy among citizens”, it does not in any way alter the fact that the one who will take the cat to the water he will probably be the candidate with the least rejection.
Four years ago, two candidates seemed serious candidates for the position: Àngel Miret and David Bondia. Then, Miret was pointed out as close to the world of the old Convergència, which undermined his options. Bondia was associated with the world of Barcelona en Comú, and that also laminated his options. Whether or not these alleged links were significant, or in some cases forced pretexts to discard the applicants, Vilà ended up repeating and thus began his second term.
Now, Bondia is once again opting for receivership. Professor of International Law and Public Relations at the UB, he is president of the Institut de Drets Humans de Catalunya, among many other responsibilities, he has been presented by 43 entities of the city.
Also present is Ramon Nicolau, a graduate in Chemical Sciences, presented by 50 entities and with a notable experience in different associations, such as Auxilia and ACIM; foundations, such as Pere Mitjans, Pere Tarrés and Fundesplai, and federations, such as ECOM and DINCAT.
LGTBI entities
Ricard de la Rosa has collaborated for 26 years with LGTBI entities and has studied the rights of the group and proposals for legal improvements. As a lawyer, he has dedicated part of his career to the rights of the person. Nine entities have proposed it.
Rosa Cagnall, once a candidate for Congress for EUiA, a historical trade unionist from the world of education, has a degree in Psychology and a diploma in Teaching. High school teacher and director of an institute. He was a spokesperson for USTEC · STEs, which is the entity that presents it.
Another candidate is Jordi Giró, president of the Associació de Veïns i Veïnes de la Vila Olímpica, the entity that has presented his candidacy, and president of CONFAVC. He was vice president of the FAVB.
The sixth candidate is Zaida Muxí, architect and professor of Urbanism at the ETSAB-UPC. She was responsible for urban planning of Santa Coloma de Gramenet from 2015 to 2019. The entity Col • lectiu Punt 6 nominates her for the position.
Rafel López, social educator, graduated in Philosophy and Educational Sciences, has a track record in primary care social services. Since 2001, he is head of the Personal Services Area of the Vilassar de Mar City Council.
He has been presented by the Col·legi d’Educadors i Educadores Socials de Catalunya. Isabel Alonso, with a degree in History, has been a high school professor and has participated, according to the summary provided by the consistory, in the anti-Franco and feminist struggle in Barcelona. She was president of the Associació pel Dret a Morir Dignament, which is presenting her candidacy.