The Valencia City Council has suspended the award ceremony of the feminist literary competition in which the Vox MP participated, Carlos Flores Juberiasconvicted in 2002 of domestic violence against his ex-wife, was a finalist.
This is what the city councilor explained at a press conference on Friday. popular Juan Carlos Caballerowho recalled that the bases of this competition were created by Compromís and the PSPV-PSOE during his mandate.
Furthermore, he said he “understands the sensitivity that this recognition has aroused” and insisted that the mayor, Maria Jose Catalarequested a report from the City Hall’s legal services to “see how to proceed”.
“We are concerned about the alarm, but there are certain bases and regulations that we must respect a priori,” he said. Therefore, until there is a clear legal criterion, the decision has been to suspend the awarding of the prizes.
Juberías entered the contest under a pseudonym, like the rest of the candidates, with a story entitled Alicia, Amparo, Ana who was voted and selected by an independent jury.
Competition
Vox has placed Carlos Flores Juberías as its candidate for the presidency of the Generalitat, despite knowing the court ruling issued in 2002.
Carlos Mazon He demanded that he not be part of the autonomous government, and that is how Flores found himself at the head of the list for the Congress of Deputies after the electoral advance of Pedro Sánchez.
In this political context, while the public is widely aware of the conviction for mistreatment, the leader decided to participate in this competition, the objective of which is “the writing of a short, original and unpublished story, which has not won a prize in previous competitions, with content that addresses the issue of the fight against stereotypes attributed to women and their empowerment.
The call asked authors for work on “the visibility of female figures who can serve as references, the presence of women in masculinized environments and the obstacles they must overcome in their life path.”
This is how “Alicia. Amparo. Ana” begins, the seventh of my short stories to see the light of day, and which has just been awarded first finalist in the VIII “Beatriu Civera” Story Competition organized by the Valencia City Council.
My gratitude to the City Hall of Valencia… pic.twitter.com/f7S5A9XlXh– Carlos Flores Juberias (@FloresJuberias) September 19, 2024
The jury was composed of a researcher from the University of Valencia, a doctor of law, a linguist from the City Council and a well-known Valencian journalist. The pseudonyms of the participants preserved the identity of each one.
The surprise came when opening the envelopes which revealed the names of the authors.
But in the PP, while recognizing the quality of the process, it is considered that Flores Juberías acted in bad faith, in search of political notoriety and with the desire to boycott the nature of the contest.
“We are analyzing all the information about the finalists and winners to see if they meet the requirements established by the regulations and the appeal,” he explained this Thursday evening. Rocio Gilcity councilor for Equality.
Vox MP Carlos Flores in an archive image
Regarding his personal opinion, he regretted what happened, with a veiled condemnation of Flores Juberías’ past. “I am a councilor for equality, I believe deeply in equality. You can all imagine what I think about it,” she said.
It was the municipal group of Compromís that revealed the status of finalist of Flores Juberías. The spokesperson of Compromís, Papi Roblesconsidered it “very serious” that the mayor, María José Catalá, “published, as part of a story contest on equality, a text by a famous Vox deputy found guilty of mistreating his wife.”
The spokesperson of the PSPV-PSOE, Borja Sanjuandemanded that Catalá not publish the story. “This is the umpteenth mockery and provocation that María José Catalá authorizes the extreme right against women and, more specifically, against victims of sexist violence,” she said.
