The president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, has already formed his first coalition government with Vox. The Alicante leader announced yesterday to his nine colleagues in the plenary session of the Consell that they will accompany him at the beginning of the XI legislature. But, who is who in the new Executive?
The new Vice President and Minister of Culture and Sports will be the former bullfighter Vicente Barrera (València, 1968. 54 years old). Graduated in Law, he made his debut as a bullfighter in 1992. After his retirement, he has managed companies linked to the agri-food industry in the restaurant and hotel industry, as well as the real estate world. Although he was always considered a person close to the PP, he ended up distancing himself from the popular ones and joined Vox in 2018. He will be the strong man in Abascal’s formation at the Consell and despite the fact that his powers are limited, he will try to set his own profile. In that battle, precisely, Barrera has managed to maintain all the Culture competencies, including that of cultural heritage and sport.
Susana Camarero (València, 1970. 53 years old) will occupy the second Vice-Presidency and Ministry of Social Services, Equality and Housing. One of the key portfolios of the new government – it merges into one the powers of the two vice-presidencies that the Botanic had – to which it unites the task of the secretariat of the Consell. As Mazón promised, it will be the PP that has Equality powers in the delicate permanent counterpoint that it will have to maintain with Vox in this matter. For this, Mazón has opted for an experienced leader who has passed through almost all the institutions: she has been a regional deputy (in the time of Eduardo Zaplana), a national deputy, a senator. In addition, during the mandate of Mariano Rajoy, she served as Secretary of State for Social Services and Equality.
The ex-syndica of Citizens in Les Corts is one of the surprises not because of the portfolio that she will occupy (Ministry of Finance, Economy and Public Administration) but because of the fact that she has been chosen as the spokesperson and visible face of the new government. Merino (Castelló, 1970) is a liberal convinced that she will have to give voice to the positions of the new coalition government. In addition, her department unites the Economy and the Treasury again to which she adds the hot potato of Public Administration, with the always negotiating with the unions.
Elisa Nuñez (Albacete) has been chosen by Vox for the Ministry of Justice and Interior. She has a PhD in Law from the University of Alicante and a degree in Religious Sciences from the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas in Madrid. She is a practicing lawyer. She was adviser and responsible for integration programs for migrants and foreigners in the seventh legislature of the Generalitat Valenciana in this Ministry, at the time of Rafael Blasco and Francisco Camps. Nuñez assumes the powers of fire prevention and extinction and management of powers in emergency situations.
The one chosen by Carlos Mazón to lead the complicated Ministry of Health is Marciano Gómez (Cuenca). Throughout the campaign and also in his investiture speech, the president of the Generalitat has given great importance and has made many promises regarding the health issue. Gómez is a promoter in health management for the implementation of public-private collaboration for efficiency in public health and the regulations that regulate medical calls, both in the field of primary care and hospitality currently in force. Currently, he is the director of the medical clinical management area at La Fe University Hospital. He was one of those who designed the so-called “Zaplana model” to deliver private management of public health.
For the Ministry of Education, Universities and Employment, the head of the Consell has chosen his friend and person of close confidence, José Antonio Rovira. Both already coincided in the second step of the Government of Zaplana. Rovira (San Vicente del Raspeig, 1962, 60 years old) was General Director of Personnel of the Department of Education (2001-2007), Personnel Manager of the Diputación d’Alacant (2007-2011) and territorial director of Alicante of the Department of Education (2013-2014). He wants to put an end to the Plurilingualism Law and the obligation to study Valencian for students from Spanish-speaking areas.
The agricultural engineer and regional deputy has been chosen by Vox for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Vox). Aguirre (València, 1961. 62 years old) will not manage Water or hunting or animal welfare.
The senator from Castellón will lead the Ministry of Environment, Water, Infrastructures and Territory. She is a leader very close to Mazón who will have the symbolic power to manage water resources, one of the workhorses of the Valencian PP.
It is one of the most important additions to the new Consell. She has been closely linked to the tourist companies of the Valncaina Community since 1995, she is the general secretary of Hosbec as well as being a member of the board of directors of CEOE, CEV or the Hotel Technological Institute. The hotel management was one of the entities that most strongly opposed the implementation of the tourist tax proposed by the previous Valencian left-wing government.
