Who is Rebeca Torró? A loyal PSOE member to replace the "disloyal" Cerdán.

ValenciaA key piece in the arrival of the Volkswagen battery plant in Sagunto and in the maintenance of the Ford car factory in AlmussafesThese are the two main political milestones of the new secretary of organization of the PSOE, Rebeca Torró (Ontinyent, 1981), a Valencian leader who stands out for her discretion, capacity for work, and loyalty to her party, above and beyond her political families. Even though this loyalty caused her to lose some friends.

The socialist leader achieved her greatest successes from two very different positions. The first, as Minister of Territorial Policy, Public Works, and Mobility of the Generalitat Valenciana, and the second as Secretary of State for Industry, where she landed after resigning as Socialist spokesperson in the Corts Valencianes, a position she held for only five months, a brief stint that demonstrates her preference for management over parliamentary life. His move to Madrid, a move he made with Ximo Puig's former right-hand man and current Secretary of State for Territorial Policy, Arcadi España, surprised many and generated some criticism, given that it weakened a parliamentary group that lost its two main figures in the Valencian Country.

Before crossing the Meseta, and when the Socialists were still president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Torró also made another key contribution, such as the purchase of masks from China during the coronavirus pandemic. His personal relationship with the businessmen of the Vall d'Albaida played a fundamental role in this management, a traditional textile region, where she is originally from.

Beyond politics, people who have known the new PSOE organizational secretary since her time as a law student and grassroots activist explain that as a young woman, Torró stood out in the PSPV for her pro-Valencian stance, a circumstance that even earned her the attention of her colleagues and the occasional joke. However, they also emphasize her ability to adapt. They also highlight her good manners, an attitude that also extends to her relationships with journalists. However, the same sources warn that she can be "demanding and tough," two essential traits for her new and complicated position.

The party above friendships

His rise in regional politics was favored by his loyalty to the party over people when in 2018 an alleged case of corruption affected the mayor of Ontinyent, Jorge Rodríguez, who then also presided over the Valencia Provincial Council and who was arrested for having participated in some high-ranking appointments in the provincial council that the National Police considered irregular. Afterwards, Justice gave them the green light. At that difficult time, and as deputy mayor and socialist spokesperson in the municipality, Torró remained loyal to the PSPV and not to Rodríguez, as other councilors did. Since then, the relationship between the still mayor and the new number three of the PSOE and Ximo Puig has been completely broken.

This is not a minor event, because this rupture caused The Socialists will lose the Valencia Provincial Council in 2023Two years ago, Nos Uneix, Rodríguez's new party, refused to vote for the Socialist candidate Carlos Fernández Bielsa unless the former Valencian president publicly apologized, a demand the former head of the Consell (Consell) refused to comply with. With Rebeca Torró in the Ferraz office, rapprochement with Rodríguez seems even more complicated, an important element in Valencian politics, given the constant growth of Ens Uneix—a party that defines itself as progressive—at the provincial level and its hypothetical leap into regional politics. It's not bold to say that Carlos Mazón will have celebrated Torró's appointment today.