Four and a half years later, Joseba Asiron takes over as mayor of Pamplona again, this time through a motion of no confidence. It is the second term in office for the 61-year-old EH Bildu activist, the first and only nationalist city councilor of the Navarre capital, after holding office between 2015 and 2019 at the head of a coalition of nationalists and forces on the left, the PSOE. The differences between the two phases are obvious, starting with the fact that on this occasion the emphasis was on socialist votes. With a degree in art history from the University of Zaragoza and a doctorate from the University of Navarra, Asiron is a professor at the Ikastola San Fermín and the author of twenty books and publications on the history and heritage of Pamplona and the regional community. This Thursday he returned to the mayor's office and repeated conciliatory messages: his commitment to the search for “consensus”, respect “for those who think differently” and “living together”.
In his first words after his election, Asiron emphasized this commitment: “It has been not only part of my political background, but above all part of my vital and personal background since I can remember,” he said. He showed it in May 1998 when he signed a manifesto with 130 other personalities to condemn the assassination of the UPN Pamplona councilor Tomás Caballero and call on ETA to stop killing. During his time as mayor and as an opposition councilor, Asiron was present at various memorial events for the victims of terrorism, such as the annual memorial service in front of Caballero's grave. In 2017, his administration became the first government led by an Abertzale to erect memorial plaques for ETA victims: this happened at the two locations in the city where the gang killed national police officer Ángel Postigo and Alfredo Aguirre, a 14-year-old, in 1980. murdered. year old boy. years, in 1985. They are two of the 27 people murdered by the terrorist group in Pamplona.
When a controversy erupted last May over the presence of ETA convicts on Bildu's electoral lists, the current mayor downplayed the controversy: “I obviously don't know where these people were thirty years ago, but I know where they are now , and I like that where they are,” he said.
Asiron was not the only member of EH Bildu to take part in tributes to the victims of ETA in recent years. But the Abertzale Left always adds the reference “and the victims of other violence” (referring to violence by police or officers), a reference included in a provincial law passed in 2019. This expression now also appears in the agreements for the motion of no confidence with the PSN (in other words) and with Geroa Bai and Contigo Zurekin, who will form his tripartite government.
Photo: VILLAR LÓPEZ | Video: EPV
The new mayor has also worked on various initiatives to restore historical memory. During his first term in office, he changed the names of streets and squares in the city with references to leaders of the dictatorship. One of the most significant milestones was the exhumation of the remains of coup generals Emilio Mola and José Sanjurjo – along with six other people – from the crypt of the Monument to the Fallen, where masses glorifying Franco continued to be held until recently.
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Since the announcement of the agreement between PSN and EH Bildu to oust UPN from the mayor's office, Asiron and the members of EH Bildu have generally kept a low profile, with few statements and very large actions. They also did not react to the disqualification of the regionalists. In fact, in an act that was conspicuous to say the least, the mayoral candidate refused to take the floor at the meeting on Thursday to present the motion of no confidence that he himself had submitted. In the press conference that followed, he explained that his silence was intended “not to add fuel to the fire.”
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On the eve of the no-confidence debate, Asiron urged his supporters to remain “calm,” and after being sworn in as mayor, he was pleased that his call had been heeded. Faced with the words of outgoing Mayor Cristina Ibarrola, who blamed him for everything that could happen to him now that he no longer has an escort, he replied: “I find Ms. Ibarrola's decision not to have an escort very legitimate , I haven't used an escort in the five years I've been in opposition and you won't hear me saying that out there. And if I had a small problem with someone, I wouldn't even think of blaming the mayor on duty.” “It is very important that the speech we give these days is responsible,” he emphasized .
Asiron assured that his priority will be social needs and not nationalist struggle. He made no secret of the fact that for him the independence of his country, “which is called Navarra/Nafarroa,” was “a completely logical aspiration.” “But within the priorities you have to be much more realistic and possible,” he immediately clarified. “My commitment and duties go in a different direction, such as making sure no one sleeps outside.”
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