The Valencia City Council experienced a fierce debate this Friday on the occasion of International Pride Day during which the mayor of the city, María José Catalá, was accused of making homophobic statements and the Vox spokesperson, Juan Manuel Badenas, who He has denied any support for the LGTBI community and has said that his group only supports “natural coexistence units.” The two groups in opposition in the Valencia City Council Compromís and PSPV have installed rainbow flags in front of their benches to make Pride Day visible and show their support for the group during the plenary session held this Friday. The action has provoked the immediate complaint of the Vox spokesperson, who has requested the withdrawal of these banners from the chamber. The mayor has consulted the request with the municipal secretary and has explained that the display of these symbols does not contravene any regulations if they are installed in front of the groups’ benches.
Valencia’s Pride Day, which is being celebrated today, is marked by the decision of the governing team not to place the flag on the main balcony of the City Hall and the justification given by Mayor Catalá, who said that she does not put up flags either for Pride Day or for the celebration of other international days, among which she mentioned various illnesses. In any case, the opposition in Valencia City Hall has urged Catalá to “apologise” for her statements. “They were homophobic statements,” said the socialist councillor Nuria Llopis. “There has not been a single advance that has not had the reactionary response of the PP,” she reproached the Popular Party. The Compromís councillor Luisa Notario criticised the PP for wanting to take over Pride Day by limiting it to a party.
Lastly, the mayor of Valencia spoke and listed the activities organized by the council to celebrate Pride: “A city that does not believe in diversity does not do all this,” said Catalá, who placed special emphasis in the activities carried out in libraries. “I have not been nor will I ever be homophobic,” Catalá maintained.
Speaking to the media before the plenary session, the spokesperson for the governing team and the PP, Juan Carlos Caballero, argued that there is no “greater visibility” than projecting the colours of the LGTBI flag on the façade of the Town Hall throughout the week, as has been done, while criticising the “twisted use” of Catalá’s words by the opposition “on an issue on which we should have the greatest possible consensus”.
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