The son of the trade unionist from Aragonès' factory, the new right-hand man of Illa

BarcelonaThe new chief of staff for Salvador Illa also comes from the local sphere. Xavier Amor (1975, Pineda de Mar) was the mayor of his municipality for 17 consecutive years (between 2007 and 2024) after three terms of CiU mayors. Just like his predecessor, Eduard Rivas, he presided over the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia (2013-2019) and did not make the leap to the Generalitat until the summer of 2024, as Secretary of Local Governments and Relations with Aran.

Although he has known Illa for a long time, it was in his last role that they truly strengthened their ties and he earned the president's trust. According to knowledgeable sources, Amor had contact with "almost all the mayors of Catalonia," and was the hinge between municipal power and the head of the Government. "That is where he saw him work," they explain.

Colleagues of Amor and political rivals describe him as an "expansive, talkative, and approachable" person. "He didn't make major changes in Pineda de Mar, but he made up for it with a very good one-on-one approach," they add. They also assure that he has "a great capacity for work and professional dedication."

However, some voices point out that his appointment is a move that "is understood primarily in electoral terms," since municipal elections are approaching, but they remind that a chief of staff must have skills that go beyond those of being a good mayor who is very well connected to the local sphere and the party base. "It is very important to know parliamentary logic, national politics, and the media," they note.

Working-class family

The father of the president's new chief of staff, Justo Amor, who had run as an independent on the PSUC lists, was a union delegate at the textile factory owned by the family of the former president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès. And, in fact, the former republican leader was the head of the opposition to Xavier Amor when he was mayor of Pineda de Mar. Despite their political differences, both have a very good relationship.

Amor, however, did not work at the former president's factory, and the main professional experience outside of politics highlighted on the PSC website is as a sales manager at the furniture and sofa store Tresiconfort. Consulted by the ARA, the company claims that at least currently it only has one employee, that the company was previously owned by the family of the former mayor of Pineda de Mar, and that he "left a very good impression".