The second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, met again this Friday with Pope Francis in a private audience that lasted more than an hour, a much longer time than meetings with the Pontiff usually last, in the Palace Library. Apostolic of the Vatican. In a subsequent contact with the media, the Minister of Labor also explained that she has addressed issues that concern both, such as inequality, the need for decent work or the environmental crisis – including Galician pellets – but not the amnesty law that failed to be approved in Congress on Tuesday
“I call for serenity and responsibility,” she declared, when asked about it, in a press conference at the Spanish embassy before the Holy See. Díaz has been convinced that the legislature is not at risk because there is no alternative to the progressive government, from the “conviction that this amnesty law that many different political forces have voted for is the correct one.”
The vice president has also been “optimistic” about the possibility that Pope Francis visits the Canary Islands to focus on another issue that worries her greatly, migration. Although she wanted to “be reserved” about whether the Government has issued an invitation for this trip, she has also conceded that “hope does not disappoint.” This January the Argentine pope received the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, as well as the three bishops of the autonomous community, to whom he promised that he would “take into account” carrying out a visit to the islands. One of the possibilities being considered is that Francisco wants to make a stop in the Canary Islands on the way to his desired trip to Argentina, which could take place in the second half of the year.
However, the issue that has occupied most of their conversation has been social rights. Díaz has defined the Pope as “the best ambassador of decent work in the world.” He has also explained an issue on the Spanish Government’s agenda such as the reduction of working hours, “which Francisco also defends”, and “the need for the life span” of workers. They also reviewed all the conflicts in the world, including that of Israel and Palestine, Ukraine and Yemen, and also the drought crisis and farmers’ protests in Europe.
The Minister of Labor has claimed to have an excellent relationship with the Pope, with whom she has met for the second time after the meeting they had in December 2021. Then, Francisco dedicated 40 minutes in which they addressed these common concerns such as decent work. or the climate crisis, in addition to the Spanish legislative initiatives to alleviate the crisis derived from the pandemic. The previous year she received the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, whom she warned of the danger of ideologies. On this occasion, taking advantage of the relationship between her homeland, Galicia, and Argentina, he has given her a work by the Argentine artist of Galician immigrant parents Luis Seoane, a serigafría by Martin Fierro and a piece edited by the Instituto Cervantes de Teresa de Jesus. The pope has responded with an institutional and other personal gift.
