Miguel Barroso Ayats (Zaragoza, 70 years old), board member of Grupo Prisa and editorial consultant, died this Saturday in Madrid of a heart attack. Barroso graduated in law, philosophy and humanities (with a focus on modern and contemporary history) from the University of Barcelona and focused his professional activity in the field of communication, having worked as a journalist in several media outlets, including EL PAÍS.
After hearing the news last night, the president of Grupo Prisa (publisher of EL PAÍS), Joseph Oughourlian, said: “I deeply regret the death of Miguel Barroso. At the moment we are all shocked by the unexpected news. My relationship with him was great. He has always brought his exceptional professional experience to both me and the Prisa board. I would like to express my deepest condolences to Miguel's family. “All members of the Prisa board mourn the loss of a person of great value.”
His career included media consulting work in Latin American countries for the company Hispasat and responsibilities at the Fnac Group, a European distributor of cultural leisure products, where he led the launch of the brand in the peninsula in 1993 and served as general director of its Spanish subsidiary. He later served as international director of communications and marketing at the group's international headquarters in Paris. In 2001, together with a hundred professionals, particularly in the field of television and audiovisual production, he participated in the launch of the digital newspaper lacorrientealterna.com, which focused on news about solidarity, ecology, music, cinema and literature.
For the last decade, he has been associated with WPP, the world's leading communications and marketing group. First as general director of the advertising agency Young & Rubicam in Spain, later as development director for Central America and the Caribbean from Havana. Eventually he was appointed Director of WPP Spain. In March 2021, at the suggestion of Amber Capital, he was appointed Director of Grupo Prisa (publisher of EL PAÍS), a position he currently holds. The group highlighted their professional experience and knowledge of the media and the world of communications both in Europe and Latin America, as well as their fit with the objectives of Prisa's strategic plan.
The figure of Miguel Barroso gained political relevance at the beginning of 2003 when the then Secretary General of the PSOE, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, included him in his trusted team as communications advisor for the local elections in May of that year. Barroso already held positions of trust for the Minister of Education José María Maravall during the first government of Felipe González, with whom he later worked in some crucial moments of his political life, such as during the 1993 parliamentary election campaign. that the socialist leader successfully defeated the PP candidate José María Aznar settled.
After the 2003 local elections, Zapatero asked him to continue working with him in view of the March 2004 general elections. After his electoral success, the socialist leader included him in the La Moncloa team and appointed him foreign minister. Communication. Barroso has already informed the Prime Minister that he will contribute to the “beginning” of the legislative period, but will not finish it because he has to fulfill personal obligations from his literary work.
During the year and a half in La Moncloa, until September 2005, Barroso undertook the task of reforming public television to remove it from the partisan struggle and to rearrange the audiovisual map. During his time in La Moncloa, the foundations were laid for the law passed in 2006 that allowed the de-government of RTVE and opened a new phase in which the president of the state radio and television was elected by Parliament. At this point, the Efe Agency also took a fundamental step with the ratification of the Editorial Statute, which guarantees the independence of journalists.
In the audiovisual sector, Barroso contributed to the drafting of a new map marked by the introduction of digital terrestrial television (DTT) and the emergence of new channels. This reform allowed Cuatro to launch free-to-air programs and La Sexta to obtain a broadcasting license. Luis Arroyo, who worked with Barroso in La Moncloa during those years, remembers that Zapatero called him to make a change in the industry. “He dedicated his life to modernizing communications. “It was very archaic and relations with the media had been severely affected during Aznar's time in office,” says Arroyo, current president of the Ateneo de Madrid, who highlights “Barroso's broad culture, tireless work and extremely brilliant analytical skills.” He also highlights “the impeccable progressive principles” that he has always defended.
Later, in April 2006, he replaced María Asunción Ansorena as General Director of the Casa de América, having been appointed by consensus from the three different administrations that make up the institution's Board of Trustees: Government, Autonomous Community of Madrid and City Council of the Capital . In addition to EL PAÍS, he worked as a columnist in other media such as the Italian agency Quotidiani Associati, the magazine El Viejo Topo and the Diario de Valencia.
Miguel Barroso co-authored the book Crónicas Caribes (Editorial El País/Aguilar, 2006) and had also published two novels: Dawn with Ants in the Mouth (Debate, 1999) and A Sensitive Affair (Random House, 2009), whose In Cuba Storylines emerge, his other great passion. The first was translated into eight languages in 2005 by his brother Mariano and made into a film with Barroso as co-author. As a specialist on the Caribbean island where he lived for a long time, he prepared a book about linguistic changes in Latin America, the notes of which are kept in a leather folder.
Barroso was married to journalist Charo Izquierdo, with whom he had two daughters, Camila and Cristina, and later to former socialist minister Carme Chacón – who died in 2017 – with whom he had a son, Miquel. His current partner was the Cuban anesthesiologist Dreydi Monduy.