Pacheco bids farewell to the CCOO amid praise from friends and opponents.

BarcelonaThe president of the Foment del Treball employers' association, Josep Sánchez Llibre, says he may be doing Javier Pacheco a disservice by explaining that, amid disagreements and disputes, he has also formed a curious friendship with the outgoing general secretary of the CCOO (Working Workers' Workers' Association) of Catalonia. The union leader bid farewell to the organization during its 13th congress, which began this Wednesday at the Palau de Congressos in Barcelona. The meeting concludes his two terms, and on Friday—barring any unforeseen events—he will choose the only candidate to succeed him and the first woman in history to hold this position: Belén López from GironaPacheco left with a prelude full of praise, both from the employers with whom he had to fight in labor disputes, and from the colleagues with whom he shared eight years marked by the Process, the pandemic, and the reindustrialization of the former Nissan.

"When it's convenient, he uses kid gloves, but if he punches you, he knocks you out for a while," Sánchez Llibre recalled about the union leader's "powerful character," also highlighting his "clarity, transparency, and willingness to build bridges." The president of Pimec, Antoni Cañete, gave a nod to his shared origins with Pacheco, both sons of Hospitalet de Llobregat, and praised his commitment in difficult times: "He has led with consistency and the ability to dialogue." The representative of small and medium-sized businesses acknowledged that he will miss him, but stated that he will be grateful not to have to argue from the other side of the table anymore.

The general secretary of the UGT (United Left) in Catalonia, Camil Ros, will continue his third term in office, thus breaking the partnership with Pacheco of recent years: "We have further strengthened the unity of action in Catalonia." However, he has not hidden the fact that during this time they have also had serious disagreements, such as during a break at a European conference where—as couples often do—they gave themselves a day's notice to talk again and find common ground. "Above personalities, the general interest of the working class is what rules," Ros said.

"Stop fascism"

The collateral protagonist of the first day of the 13th Congress of the Workers' Commissions of Catalonia (CCOO), which brought together 650 delegates, also expressed his gratitude for the fact that both had been able to put aside testosterone and rivalries to fight side by side. Pacheco lamented, however, that despite the agreements reached with employers' associations during the pandemic crisis, the tripartite negotiations "have not been up to par." The unionist is leaving. without the Interprofessional Agreement of Catalonia (AIC) having been closed, after talks broke down almost two years ago. With the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and other politicians and representatives of social organizations sitting in the front rows, Pacheco called for joining forces to "stop fascism" in the face of a "threatened" democracy. Incidentally, Sánchez Llibre also assumed that, As he himself explained in an interview in the ARA, the Catalan trade unionist will continue to fight this battle "in the capital of kingdom".