A group of peoplewide and diverse» who was once part of the ecological movement Futuro Vegetal (FV) is fed up with the visible face of the group, Eduardo Jesús Rovira, better known as Bilbo Bassaterra, speaking on his behalf.
This has been expressed in an internal statement, consulted by ABC, in which they accuse him of appropriating all the group’s resources, including money and accounts on social networks, and they accuse him that, ten months after having asked him to do so, continue without giving explanations for the alleged diversion of donations to his private account – up to 44,000 euros through false invoices, according to the Police -, which a Madrid court is already investigating.
“In recent months there has been a coup of power in Futuro Vegetal, perpetrated by Bilbo and a small circle of people who are still loyal to him,” it can be read. «We consider that this group and, very particularly, Bilbo, has lost total legitimacy to speak on behalf of the people who have put our energies into Futuro Vegetal,” they assert.
In the writing, of three pages and signed by «dissident voices» of the movement, they assure that Bilbo and this group «continue forward as if nothing had happened, entrenching themselves in popular support that they are appropriating» and «passing off as their own collective decisions.» According to the sources consulted by this newspaper, only four of the militants remain originating in Futuro Vegetal.
«Bilbo does interviews speaking as if behind his back he had a united group that supports him, as if the media attention that he has taken by force gave him the legitimacy to continue with what we consider a full-fledged systematic aggression«, they denounce. »We consider that his unbridled ego is a problem for the entire movement.”
The disagreements began months ago because, according to the dissidents, Bassaterra and his associates were exercising “openly transphobic positions” and pressured “to turn FV into a transphobic space». Then the first departures of the collective emerged.
Then Operation Spora broke out, in which the Police arrested around twenty activists accused of belonging to a criminal organizationand as a result of which the rest of the FV members were aware that part of the donations they had collected – it is estimated that more than 76,000 euros– was intended to fund the particular interests of a few that had nothing to do with climate activism. The investigations reveal, as ABC announced, that Bilbo used the money, for example, to buy a caravan or pay 5,500 euros to his ex-partner.
The bulk of the militants, already in January, asked for explanations, without success. «Bilbo and his group ignored this statement and they have ignored us systematically”. Now the dissidents want to heal the wounds. Hence, they are considering reorganizing and resorting to mediation: «We are considering opening a process of accountability within the framework of transformative justice, with the hope that Bilbo and his group will stop abusing their power, apologize and repair the damage. caused.
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