Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas: "We will do a disservice to the party and to the president if we turn these primaries into a plebiscite on Puigdemont"

Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas (Barcelona, 1961) is the free spirit of Junts participating in the primaries to choose the mayoral candidate in Barcelona.What led you to run in these primaries?

— In 2018, President Puigdemont offered me to be the candidate for Barcelona the following year. And at that moment I couldn't. And that's a thorn in my side. Later he offered me to be Minister of the Interior and it couldn't happen either. And in October I was talking with him in Waterloo and I told him yes, that I was now available again, with eagerness, with enthusiasm and with drive.

I don't know if these primaries were very popular with the party leadership.

— No gens.

They wanted a consensus candidate, right?

— Yes, but I think it's a mistake. The primaries are allowing, first, to demonstrate that at Junts we have talent; second, that we are talked about; and third, we are once again showing what Junts has always done since its foundation, which is to give a voice to the membership. I wrote an article years ago that said "Junts, soul of a movement with the body of a party".

Primaries can also open wounds in a party...

— What worries me is that as the primaries are being configured, they seem to be a pre-congress for the future governance of the party. And we should avoid this. Here we are not anyone's candidate, we have to choose who is the best to face Mayor Collboni, because the objective is to win the mayoralty, and not so much to think about whether we favor one sector or another with our vote.

And what makes you think this reading is being done?

— It seems evident to me. First of all, the first thing we should do is to stop talking about President Puigdemont. President Puigdemont does not campaign in Barcelona, and therefore does not participate in or support anyone. I believe we will do him and the party a disservice if we try to turn these primaries into a plebiscite about the president. All of us who are running are Puigdemont supporters.

Junts is an amalgam of sensibilities. Which one do you represent?

— As I was saying, I represent the soul of the movement rather than the body of a party, if we want to put it in a headline. I do not align myself with any faction or family. I also have the advantage that I am the only one of the candidates who does not hold public office and, therefore, I have more freedom of judgment.

But you have always been considered, for example, a person close to Laura Borràs.

— I am a person close to President Puigdemont, because I am his lawyer. Laura Borràs asked me to be at the table of the Parliament. I was secretary, but, if you remember, I lasted two vignettes.

This is an episode that I don't know if it helps him. Did he leave because he didn't want to disobey?

— No, I said it wasn't worth disobeying on symbolic matters because they would disqualify us in exchange for a one-day headline. And that if we wanted to do something serious, then we should risk it and each person should decide how far they wanted to go. I have the advantage that if I am politically disqualified, I can earn a living outside. Therefore, that wasn't the problem.

Let's change the subject. Do you consider Aliança Catalana to be far-right like Vox?

— Yes, although it is a basically populist party that feeds on the discontent with traditional parties. I predict it will have the same curve as Ciutadans. It will rise a lot and end up disappearing in a couple of legislatures.

If you were mayor, would you maintain the ban on tourist apartments?

— The word prohibition doesn't appeal to me, in general. It needs to be better regulated. But we can't stop economic progress either. And if they do as they say, the employers' association will sue them so hard they won't be able to pay the bill.

Would you prohibit the purchase of entire buildings by investment funds?

— It is a tricky proposal. What needs to be done is to regulate things properly, it is not a matter of prohibiting buying or not. With the rent cap, the available housing stock has been substantially reduced. These are measures that end up causing the opposite effect of what was intended.

We are talking about green axes. Wouldn't you have made the Consell de Cent axis?

— I would not have done it in the hasty way with a lack of studies that has been done.

What concerns you about mobility?

— So now there is a war on motorcycles. Here I am especially sensitive as a motorcyclist and former messenger of many years. Order had to be established, but now it has been criminalized, you go by motorcycle and you don't know where to leave it.