A failure in shorthand in high school changed the life of Ana Rivero (Madrid, 70 years old). “My father was a stenographer, he worked as a cryptologist at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and of course, for him that was a shame. So he taught me his method and the following year, at 17, I won the award for the fastest stenographer in Spain.” Until that moment, Ella Rivero had other plans: she wanted to go to China to learn the language, but she entered Congress and there she has worked for the last 50 years. Through her hands has passed the end of the dictatorship, the beginning of democracy, the proclamation of two kings and a pandemic, in which, to avoid risks, she worked alone for endless days. She retires next week.
Ask. Half a century in the Cortes. It is older than the last round of democracy in Spain. Do you remember the first day?
Answer. I was very nervous. So there were no recordings or anything. The law for political reform was being debated in a room and our table was in the middle, on top of a stool. I was wearing a skirt, because then we couldn't come with pants and I thought it was going to open. How everything has changed. Once again I came with a normal neckline, which wasn't even a neckline, in the summer, and Mónica Plaza [consejera nacional del Movimiento, directora del Departamento de Promoción de la Sección Femenina] He approached me and said: “Miss, that neckline is not appropriate for coming to work.”
Q. And what did he answer?
R. Nothing. I was petrified.
Q. For many years, the body of stenographers was purely male. Now it's the other way around, there are hardly any men.
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R. The first stenographer entered the Republic, but had to go into exile with the war. I got to know the second one, Araceli Ratero: she entered in 1969 and had a very bad time. I also had a very bad time at the beginning. You didn't enter as a stenographer, but as a stenographer's assistant, earning half. If you got married, it had to be in the summer; If you got pregnant, you had to get pregnant to give birth in summer…
Q. What would have happened if not?
R. Well, it was very frowned upon. There was no conciliation. I got married when I was 40 and I considered having a child, but I spent 12 hours a day in Congress and my parents couldn't help me because they were already older.
Q. And what happened?
R. That I didn't have it.
Q. Now there are many more women also on the benches. Do they express themselves differently than the deputies?
R. In general, they are less aggressive. Now there's plenty of testosterone. Sometimes this is like a school, they don't listen to each other. But that's what Parliament is for. If they have already decided the vote before listening…
R. After so many years in Congress, are your honors still capable of surprising you?
R. If every day. Last legislature, for example, a Vox deputy says that one of the PSOE called him a “cowardly rat.” My colleague goes to the commission and they say: “Hey, have you heard that they have called me a cowardly rat?”
Q. Has the environment gotten worse or are we idealizing the past?
R. It's gotten much worse. Now they are debates… exhibitionists.
Q. Does political tension affect your work?
R. Yes. 20 years ago, the limitations were minimal and now there are many. When they insult each other or make any gesture we have to reflect it. The stenographer takes ten-minute shifts in the chamber and then she has an hour's work in the office, because we have to ensure that what they have said is understood in 20 or 50 years, that there are no contradictions, if someone has made a mistake in a name, correct it, grasp the meaning of what the speaker wants to say, which is not always the same as what he says… Sometimes they say nothing on purpose. And it is very noticeable if they have it prepared or not. That's why we call the deputies. We had Fraga, who did not vocalize well, but there were also others who spoke very quickly.
Q. That exhibitionism or theater is also noise, right? For example, this custom that your honorable Members have adopted of hitting the bench with your hands to applaud or protest.
R. Yes, it's noise. The most difficult thing is when several things happen at the same time. For me, the best debates were those about the Constitution. They were overwhelming speeches. Carrillo, for example, was very calm, he never got upset and always ended by saying “If God wants it” (laughs). The days were very long, we had no vacations, but there was a lot of excitement: we were building democracy again. That's why it saddens me that now politicians don't talk enough. I was also very impressed, in the constituent legislature, to see La Pasionaria and Alberti descend the stairs of the chamber. That woman, who they said was a dangerous communist, looked like a little old lady, although in reality she wasn't, with a white bow, all dressed in black… it was very exciting.
Q. He was also in Congress the day democracy trembled…
R. On 23-F I saw all the civil guards and Tejero pass by, I arrived at the door of the chamber and they did not let me enter. When I heard the volley of shots, I thought my companions were dead. Another police officer who was on the ground told me that he believed there were ETA members in the stands. An hour later, they released us. The next day, when the session opened, my partner and I gave each other a very long hug, but it was no wonder: everything we had fought for had been about to go to hell.
Q
. While working in Congress he graduated and received a doctorate in Law, but he did not leave the Chamber, shorthand. Because?
R. When I entered Congress, no race was required and it took an average of five years to get the opposition out of shorthand. I was very fast, but I didn't know anything, and you can't correct a text you don't understand, so I started studying. I thought about becoming a matrimonial lawyer, but with the incompatibilities law I couldn't be a civil servant, I had to choose and I stayed because I like this a lot. I also thought about taking the exam for Congressional counsel, but my brother, who is a psychologist and also worked as a technician in the Chamber, asked me: Do you really want to or is it because you are afraid to go out and live? At that time I only studied and worked. He was 28 years old. So at 30 I went crazy (laughs) and at 40 I got married.
Q. And now that she's retiring, what would she like to do?
R. Travel!
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