The second vice-president of the Government and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, yesterday again demonstrated a good rapport with Pope Francis. Díaz returned to the Vatican to hold another audience with the Pontiff, the second time he has received it since December 2021, in a lengthy conversation that lasted for more than an hour, a time not usual for the audiences of Francis in the apostolic palace. “And you are still as belligerent as ever?”, the Argentine pope asked him at the beginning of the talk.
As he explained to the media in a subsequent press conference at the Spanish embassy in front of the Holy See, they talked about a wide variety of issues, starting with common concerns, such as the fight against inequalities or the emergency climate, and they also mentioned the pellets in Galicia, the drought crisis or the protests of European farmers. The leader of Sumar told the press that she conveyed to the Pope an issue from the Spanish Government’s agenda, the reduction of the working day, “which Francis also defends”, and “the need for life time” for workers. “He is the best ambassador of decent work in the world”, he declared.
They also reviewed all the conflicts that plague the world, including that of Israel and Palestine, Ukraine or Yemen, and mentioned the possibility of Francis visiting the Canaries. On this, Díaz was “optimistic”, but wanted to be cautious and “reserved” about whether the central government has received an invitation for this visit. Two weeks ago 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 “consider” carrying out a visit to the islands. One of the possibilities being studied is that Francesc wants to make a stop in the Canary Islands on the way to the desired trip to Argentina, which could be held in the second half of the year.
As for whether the Amnesty law was part of the topics of the conversation, the vice-president denied it, although she wanted to make a “call to serenity and responsibility” after it was not approved this week in Congress due to the demarcation of Junts. Díaz was convinced that the legislature is not at risk because there is no alternative to the progressive Government, from the “conviction”, she added, “that this Amnesty law that we have voted for many different policies is the right one”.
This time, taking advantage of the relationship of his homeland, Galicia, with Argentina, Díaz presented the Pope with a work by the Argentine artist of Galician parentage Luis Seoane, a serigraph by Martin Fierro and a piece published by the Cervantes Institute of Teresa de Jesus. The Pope responded with an institutional gift, another personal gift and dismissed her with a piece of advice: “Don’t slack off!”.
