Jéssica Albiach Satorres (; born 29 May 1979) is a Spanish journalist and politician. A member of

Catalunya en Comú Catalunya en Comú (, CatEnComú or CatComú), previously Un País en Comú () and collectively dubbed as Comuns (), is a Catalan-based political party established in December 2016 as an umbrella for Barcelona en Comú, Initiative for Catalonia G ...

and formerly Podemos, she was elected to the

Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia (, ; ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 members, known as Deputy (legislator), deput ...

in 2015. She has also led the

En Comú Podem En Comú Podem (, ECP) was an electoral coalition in Catalonia, originally formed in October 2015 by Podemos, Barcelona en Comú, Initiative for Catalonia Greens, United and Alternative Left, and Equo, and led by the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada ...

and

Comuns Sumar Comuns Sumar () is a Catalan-based electoral alliance formed by Catalunya en Comú, Barcelona in Common and Movimiento Sumar ahead of the 2024 Catalan regional election A regional election was held in Catalonia on Sunday, 12 May 2024, to elec ...

coalitions.

Early life and education

Jéssica Albiach was born in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. She studied journalism at

CEU Cardinal Herrera University CEU Cardenal Herrera University (in Spanish: ''Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera'') is a private university located in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is part of the CEU Foundation, being the first private school of Law ever founded in Valenc ...

. Albiach had a six-month Erasmus stint at

KU Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its mai ...

in Belgium. Soon after, she studied photography and took a course in Anthropology at the

National University of Distance Education The National Distance Education University (, UNED) is a distance learning and research university founded in 1972 and is the only university run by the government of Spain. The headquarters is located in Madrid, with campuses in all Spanish aut ...

, which she did not finish. She moved to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

to dedicate herself to photography, and on returning, she taught the

Catalan language Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...

to immigrants for

Caritas Internationalis Caritas Internationalis (Latin for ) is a confederation of 162 national Catholic relief, development, and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. The name Caritas Internationalis refers to both the ...

Career

In October 2015, shortly after being elected to the

, Albiach was chosen as one of two spokespeople for

ahead of national elections in December. In September 2018, after the exit of Xavier Domènech, Albiach was elected as En Comú Podem's leader in the Catalan parliament. On 27 February 2020, she received the backing of

mayor of Barcelona This is a list of mayors of Barcelona since 1835. The Mayor of Barcelona is the highest political authority of the City Council of Barcelona, Barcelona City Council. In accordance with Organic Law 5/1985, of June 19, on the General Electoral Regi ...

Ada Colau Ada Colau Ballano ( ; born 3 March 1974) is a Spanish activist and politician who was Mayor of Barcelona between 2015 and 2023. On 13 June 2015 she was elected Mayor of Barcelona, the first woman to hold the office, as part of the citizen munici ...

to lead the party in the 2021 Catalan election.

Political views

Albiach has criticised unilateral measures by the

Catalan independence movement The Catalan independence movement (; ; ) is a Social movement, social and political movement with roots in Catalan nationalism that seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain. While proposals, organizations and individuals advocating for Ca ...

, such as the 2017 independence referendum, as being counter-productive for the movement. She proposes a regulated referendum as the solution to the debate. In June 2020, during the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

, Albiach supported the removal of the Monument to Christopher Columbus in Barcelona, saying that "we have nothing to celebrate on 12 October ( Spain's national day, based on the date of Columbus's arrival in the Americas)". In the 2021 regional election campaign, Albiach proposed further devolution of power to Catalonia, including in the sectors of housing, railways, immigration, and dialogue with the European Union.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albiach, Jessica 1979 births Living people Politicians from Valencia Mass media people from Valencia Politicians from the Valencian Community Spanish photographers Spanish journalists KU Leuven alumni Podemos (Spanish political party) politicians Leaders of political parties in Spain Members of the 11th Parliament of Catalonia Members of the 12th Parliament of Catalonia Spanish expatriates in the Czech Republic Women members of the Parliament of Catalonia