Xuxo Lores, the nationalist with a quarter of a century at the head of the right-wing city of Rajoy: "I would name him persona non grata again"

In 1987 he was the first BNG councilor in Pontevedra. In 1999, the first mayor of the left. Since then, no one has been the first again, since Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores has been in the Mayor's Office for 24 years in the city of Mariano Rajoy and the president of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, who do win in regional and general elections, but remain behind. the doors in the municipal. It is the mirror in which the leader of Galician nationalism, Ana Pontón, in full swing; and, with his team, architect of an award-winning city model in New York, Hong Kong, Dubai, South Korea or Brussels. It is his main asset.

In 1999 his first measure was to pedestrianize. Did you dream of being an example of a city without cars? The idea was to make a paradigm shift. You have to reach the government knowing the ills that the city can have and the remedies that we can give it. And that is learned in the opposition. I was stuck, it was sad, without expectations. I review the 99 program from time to time and it was ahead of the great debate that is now going on about livable, friendly, sustainable cities that fight against global warming, that improve the quality of life. It was unsustainable, it had horrifying data. The car index tripled that of Madrid per square kilometer and that of London multiplied it by five. They presume that they exchanged cars for people. It was unfeasible; or people or cars, that was the decision. We read a lot and we are 20 years ahead of an issue that cities have now seen clearly in the pandemic. That we wanted to give a twist, thinking about people instead of motorized mobility. We show that the cars needed for the city to function are fewer than it seems. He says that there is a real risk that these achievements will come to nothing. Everyone wants to go back, with that concept of: we are going to open the city, it cannot be enter Pontevedra. What does that bring? We go back to the black and white city of the 80s and 90s, which was a traffic jam. The world vanguard is going to create cities for people, with vitality, public health, citizen coexistence, social cohesion, social infrastructure. And the greatest social infrastructure there is is public space, which must be a continuation of your house.. I really like the definition of the New York award: “Pioneer of people-centered urban design that promotes healthy lifestyle habits.” Do you regret any decision? I regret overconfidence in other administrations, especially the Xunta and the state. But I am very satisfied, excited because Pontevedra has a brutal journey. We are in an excellent starting situation to advance in what we mayors are for, to improve the quality of life. What I am happiest about is the pride of the people, of belonging, of feeling that they belong to a city that is a reference.

We are 20 years ahead of what others saw clearly in the pandemic

Is there anything left to do? A lot. One of our keys is to make a comprehensive model, that all neighborhoods and parishes have a minimum quality of life, we try to be equitable to avoid gentrification, that everyone wants to live in the core that is good. we decentralize the city. The idea was to do things because I am a nationalist, I believe in this country, and in Pontevedra more. I want to live in a city and in a country where you can live with high quality, you can work and there is a future, which does not go through Ence, it goes through recovering the estuary, through the creative and circular economy, through respect for the environment environment, for excellence in gastronomy, the survival of the primary sector, the quality of our products, innovation. We are in the great debates. Large cities, like Madrid, can they learn from Pontevedra? They can learn that measures can be taken to recover public space, take the measures that were taken here, by districts. This makes the city more attractive and improves the quality of life.. In Madrid there is so much noise that it is stressful. Rajoy and Rueda, did they give their city what they had to give it? Mariano's is…. It was not noticed that he was in the government. Not at all. I do not believe in friendly governments, but in those that are just. But it is that it did not have the smallest detail. And, apart from that, he wants to saddle us with cellulose for 60 more years. Look, it's going to be no.

«The more strength we have [BNG], the better it will be for us Galicians»

His government named Rajoy persona non grata. Would you do it again? Yes, and much more, when you see that they continue to insist. The Justice thing with the Ence theme is Kafkaesque, it does not resist the slightest legal argument. For some there is right of seigneur and for others there must be competition law. Win in a right-wing city. Why? Because we have a policy of improving people's quality of life, regardless of their ideological options.. And we do it because we love this country and we have confidence in the people.. In addition, I disagree with the fact that it is from the right, another thing is that they have voted for the right, but people change. It is a city of people who have a special pasta. When you propose a reasonable project that is going to be good collectively, I feel supported. But the PP wins in the general and regional elections… And I have to thank them for voting for us in the municipal elections. We will try to convince them to vote for us in the other. That in the autonomous regions there is someone governing, if it can be a woman, better, that she has her feet on the ground and that the only dependency she has is her country. We are in a State that has representation of the autonomies and historical communities and, the more strength we have there, the better things will go for us Galicians. We have shown here that we know how to do things well. Others are always looking outside, everything outside is better. It is a lack of confidence in the country. You have to have a sense of belonging and pride because this is a rich country and one that has immense possibilities. In 2015, in their campaign, they presented themselves as a French village that resists the invader. I liked it because of the pride of belonging and because we are capable of defeating the enemy. We live in an increasingly complex society and collaboration is needed. We are proud, but it is a new stage.