Manuel Bustos's right hand enters Aliança Catalana

BarcelonaOn February 5, 2015, Lluís Monge was the only socialist councilor accompanying the former mayor of Sabadell, Manuel Bustos, to the courts. The former mayor had to testify in the case of watches allegedly gifted to members of the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia (FMC) when he presided over the entity, as part of the Mercuri case. Upon leaving, Monge also acted as Bustos' spokesperson to deny that the money came from training courses and to justify the institutional gifts. That was one of the pieces of a proceeding that ended inconvicting Bustos to three years in prison in 2022.

Faced with the opposition's attacks on the government due to Monge's presence in court, the then socialist mayor, Joan Carles Sánchez, tried to downplay the controversy as best he could: "Mr. Monge fulfills his obligations at the town hall, but in his free time he can dedicate himself to other things, such as accompanying a party colleague." Years later, Monge justified in an interview with Nació Digital why he supported him: "When someone is in trouble, and he was in a lot of trouble, you can't leave them alone. That's why I accompanied him to testify in court, when no one else wanted to. I wasn't the first choice, but I went, even though I knew it would mark me for life."

His controversial presence in court has not hindered him from joining Aliança Catalana, where he became a member in July last year, as ARA has learned, without any obstacles. His extensive experience as a councilor has allowed him to find a place in Silvia Orriols' party, which seeks experienced people, regardless of their origin. And Monge presents a track record of service that is difficult for any party leader to surpass. He was a PSC councilor in Barberà from 1987 to 2003, where he held all council positions except for Urbanism and Local Police, and in Sabadell between 2007 and 2015 after Bustos directly hired him, first to hold some technical positions and then to place him as deputy mayor.

Despite arguing that the Mercuri case is "more of the PP than the PSC because the one who made money was the popular spokesperson, Jordi Soriano", Aliança Catalana has opened its doors wide open to him. Thus, beyond participating in the information stalls that the party holds in Sabadell, the leadership has placed him in an organic position by appointing him head of plenary sessions in Vallès Occidental, as confirmed by sources from this party to ARA. He is in charge of coordinating the plenary sessions where the party does not have a presence through local representatives.

He will not be the candidate for Sabadell

Be that as it may, Monge will not lead the Alliance list in Sabadell. But another former socialist militant will. Party sources take it for granted that Joana Berrio will be the mayoral candidate. And like Monge, she was also from the bustista sector at the time. When the PSC leadership dissolved the local executive in December 2015 once the former mayor's imprisonment was confirmed and appointed a provisional management committee to rebuild the party, Berrio sided with the bustistas.

Thus, at the assembly of militants convened to appoint the delegates of the group to the 2016 PSC of Catalonia congress, Berrio was part of the sector led by Monge who refused to accept the delegates proposed by the board. Monge would end up leaving the party, remaining as a non-attached councillor, as did Carles Bosch. Ten years later, Monge and Berrio have established a close relationship and the future Sabadell candidate joined the party in August 2025, just one month after Monge did.

In fact, the presumptive mayoral candidate is a civil servant at the Sabadell City Council, where she works as an administrative assistant, but she requested a permit that was not granted in order to transfer to the Castellar del Vallès City Council, where Monge now resides. Berrio's profile is particularly liked by the leadership for her Zionism. Berrio, president of the Sabadell-Israel Cultural Association (ACSI), was responsible for issuing the party's statement at the end of January, in which she attacked the mayor, Marta Farrés, for not condemning the Hamas attack or for having the Palestinian flag on the City Hall facade.

The candidate from Terrassa

In Terrassa, the other co-capital of Vallès Occidental, the candidate will be Agustí Devant. This Terrassa businessman manages Fhort Textile Tech, a company specialized in textile technologies and talent management, and the company Elitse Andevi, dedicated to psychology services, coaching and emotional well-being, after being the co-founder and CEO of the startup Skiverse, with his brother Salvador, which digitized the offer of ski resorts, hotels and ski passes for travel agencies.

With more than 25 years of experience in entrepreneurship, business management, and operational transformation and organizational development projects, Devant also gives lectures for employers' associations such as Foment or the Anoia Business Union. With no prior affiliation with any party, he is now making the leap into politics to try to get Aliança into the country's fourth city. Devant and Berrio were already at the presentation event of Aliança last Thursday in Matadepera and were seated in the front row, which is always reserved for the party's executive and officials.