One of the most important architects of the European Union (EU), who presided over the Commission for nine key years in the process of European construction, Jacques Delors, died this Wednesday at the age of 98, as confirmed by his daughter, Martine Aubry. socialist like him and mayor of Lille.

Jacques Delors “died this morning [yesterday Wednesday] while sleeping at his home in Paris,” his daughter told the French media.

Delors was the visible head of the EU that Spain joined in 1986, then still called the European Economic Community (EEC).. Between 1985 and 1994, as President of the Commission, Delors was the protagonist of the most important advances of the now Union, leading milestones such as the creation of the European single market, the signing of the Schengen agreements, the Single European Act, the launch of the exchange program of Erasmus students, from which millions of young Europeans and thousands of Spaniards have benefited, the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and the implementation of the Economic and Monetary Union, which is why he is known as the father of the euro.

The European Union would not be the same today without the strong impulse that Delors gave it continuously for almost 10 years.

Before piloting the construction of Europe, Delors was Minister of Economy of France from 1981 to 1984, in the first socialist government of François Mitterrand.. He represented the centrist wing of the Socialist Party (PS) from Paris and also later from Brussels.

When he abandoned his responsibilities in Europe and for months, in France it was assumed that he would be a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, since he would have almost certainly given victory to the PS.

However, at the end of 1994, he surprised all of France with his resignation from leading the candidacy, an announcement that came after six months of suspense and live on television before 13 million viewers, which left the French stunned.. “I am going to be 70 years old,” he said, “I have been working tirelessly for 50 years and it is more reasonable, in these circumstances, to foresee a lifestyle more balanced between reflection and action.”

From that moment on, Delors withdrew from the front line of politics, but continued to participate in different foundations and in French life, where he always enjoyed great prestige.

In March 2020, when the worst crisis to hit the world in the 21st century, the Covid-19 pandemic, broke out in all its harshness, he asked the heads of state and government of the EU for greater solidarity at a time when the one that was discussed about the joint response to that terrible crisis. Subsequently, the historic reconstruction and resilience funds were launched.

Born in Paris on July 20, 1925 into a simple Catholic family, Jacques Delors was active in the Christian Workers Youth (JOC), to which he remained linked throughout his life.. Already at the age of 49, he joined the PS late.

He married Marie Lephaille in 1948, who died in 2020.. They had two children: Martine Aubry, born in 1950, and Jean-Paul, born in 1953 and died of leukemia at only 29 years old.

He landed in the wild and rogue Shanghai of 2008, in the midst of the economic explosion of a country that was positioned as a new promised land for young entrepreneurs.. The Chinese adventure was very seductive. And more so for a profile with good academic and economic tables like those that Eduardo Vallejo arrived with. More than three decades later, this 44-year-old from Zaragoza dedicates himself during the day to sending containers with all kinds of products manufactured in China to Spain, while at night he entertains the parties in the best clubs in one of the financial capitals of the world. .

Anyone who has immersed themselves in Shanghai's vibrant nightlife, especially the Latin restaurants that transform into reggaeton clubs at midnight, has at some point seen a flyer with the name DJ Tuto. “It comes from the Chilean expression 'do the tuto', which means to take a nap. The artistic nickname was given to me by a friend from Chile because she said that I really liked to sleep,” says Vallejo.

This Christmas, the Spanish DJ, who already has an international lineup with performances in the best clubs in Ibiza, Sydney and Singapore, has a full agenda with all kinds of parties where he has been hired to play.. “When I arrived, the party was 90% expats and 10% Chinese. Those figures have already turned around. The Chinese that comes out now has a lot of money, much more than the foreigner, but their way of having fun is different, more boring in our eyes,” explains the Spaniard.

“The Chinese dance less, but they drink more. They don't care what you're playing, they just want loud music playing in the background while they're sitting at a table with their friends playing dice.. They don't go to a bar to socialize, they go to drink and play.. That is their way of having fun, although it is also true that in recent years, especially Chinese women and thanks to Latin music, reggaeton, they are becoming more and more integrated into dancing.”

At night in Shanghai, DJ Tuto is a reference. But what few know outside their environment is that it is also the same within the Spanish business bubble.. In China he founded a business group, Liem Group, which includes an export company and a consultancy.. He also opened a Spanish school and a Colombian-Venezuelan cuisine restaurant.. In addition, he has been a professor of Political Economy at Fudan University, one of the most important universities in the economic capital of China.

“In Zaragoza I was a professor of Macroeconomics at the university and worked for the Government of Aragon in the regional development office abroad, which helps companies go abroad and attract investment.. Then, I got the opportunity to go to China as a representative of Aragón Exterior.. A year later, in 2009, I decided to move forward on my own and open a trading company in Hong Kong and a consultancy in Shanghai to advise Spanish businessmen who wanted to settle in the Asian country,” says Vallejo.

The master started in music as a hobby, but little by little it became more of a job.. “When I arrived in China, no one listened to Latin electro or reggaeton, they only knew salsa or bachata. I started playing music that was new to them and they hired me because I had a profile that didn't exist.. I caught a good wave.”

“The bombs fell very quickly one after another. Maybe five or six, all very powerful. Boom… boom… after less than half a minute it was all over and the four buildings located 400 meters away were reduced to rubble. “For a moment there was a terrified silence, waiting for the Israeli planes to strike back, but only the drone of a drone could be heard in the darkness. That's when we started to hear the screams of the wounded.”

Mussa's story comes from the heart of the tormented Gaza Strip. It is not easy to reach residents by phone. Those who still have charged batteries are forced to climb the tallest buildings left standing to try to intercept the signal from the Israeli lines. Mussa is 37 years old, he is a mathematics teacher at the public school in the Maghazi refugee camp, in the eastern sector of the central region of Gaza, he is married. His wife is a pharmacist in nearby Khan Yunis, and he has three children.. The oldest is 10 years old and his name is Hassan; The youngest is a 3-year-old girl.

The Israeli Army continues its offensive on the Gaza Strip this Wednesday, where there are already some 21,000 dead and 55,000 injured

Without prior notice

For them, the fact that the 24th was Christmas Eve matters little.. They are Muslims, but it matters that that night one of the worst massacres in recent days occurred in the entire Strip. Within seconds, Israeli shells killed around 70 people and wounded dozens more.. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, most of the victims were “women and children.”

As of yesterday, Tuesday, updated bulletins reported “more than a hundred dead, many still under the rubble.”. “It was shortly after 10:30 p.m.. I know this because our kids had just gone to bed.. We heard the bombs falling, as usual, in the northern areas, including Gaza City and the large Jabalia refugee camp.. The Israelis had given no warning, no signal that they would attack Maghazi,” Mussa continued.

They were relatively calm, with the illusion that they would be warned if an attack occurred. They fled northern Gaza two months ago following the pamphlets and even direct phone calls the Israelis made urging people to evacuate.. In normal times, Maghazi is inhabited by about 20,000 people, virtually all descendants of the refugees who abandoned their homes and villages at the time of the war for the birth of Israel in 1948.. Some 40,000 displaced people from northern Gaza have joined them since the end of October, with their homes reduced to rubble.

The destruction

But it was not like that. “We did not see any Hamas militants. We do not know of the existence of tunnels or military positions of the organization in the damaged area,” says Mussa.. He knows the names of the victims' family clans by heart, because many of their neighbors who fled the north lived in the affected buildings: Abu Handa, Al Nawazra, Abu Rachma, Ghaben, Msallam, Qandil, Abu Awad. Their places of origin are in Ramleh, Bashet, Ashkelon (the ancient Arab Majdal), Qatra: all places that are now part of southern Israel. And they have so instilled the memory of the Nakba, as Palestinians call the “tragedy” of their flight in 1948 from the onslaught of Israeli forces, that they now inevitably experience the drama as a miniature repetition of that period.

“There was no reason to destroy those buildings and kill their inhabitants. But we are witnessing the Israeli plan to instill fear in us and induce us to flee abroad, preventing us from returning.. “Where are we going to live if there are no houses left?” he asks.. Immediately after the explosions, he realized that all his windows had shattered and his children had been injured by glass shards.. “It was my fault,” he says. “Normally we keep the windows open to reduce the effects of the bombs. But that night it was cold.”

They are leaders who currently exercise, with extreme power and responsibility in their hands, but who, far from exercising with justice and equity, take advantage of their privileged situation for their own benefit or to alter the region of the world in which they

“I walked through the door and it was the first time I felt safe and at peace, with the feeling that this is the beginning of the rest of my life”. Just a few days ago the young woman who expresses herself like this in front of the camera was sleeping on the street. Now he has a bed and