The mayor of Barbadás (Ourense), Xosé Carlos Valcárcel, announced that will not leave the minutes and will continue as advisor, but what will apart from socialist acronyms, after a complaint against him for workplace harassment by a PSOE activist was filed. In addition, he requested the resignation of the leader of the PSdeG in Galicia, José Ramón Gómez Besteiro, for the management of the file of which José Tomé was president of the Provincial Council of Ahora.
This Tuesday, Besteiro himself reported that on Monday afternoon, the Socialist Party had received internally a complaint for alleged harassment at work against Valcárcel, which would be derived as retaliation for reporting sexual harassment by a local officer. In addition, he said that the PSdeG of the province of Orense took care of the person, who also confirmed the complaint through a document.
After that, the Barbadás councilor called the media late in the afternoon in front of the socialist provincial headquarters, where Valcárcel declared that has already requested withdrawal of the party but who will continue as mayor and provincial deputy as a non-registered member, since he no longer belongs to the PSOE.
In its appearance, as stated Europe Pressdeclared himself in a situation of “manifest helplessness”, without respecting his “presumption of innocence”. Thus, he explained that he learned of the complaint filed against him on Monday evening, when the provincial secretary, Álvaro Vila, transmitted it to him. After that, he said it was Tuesday morning that, through a call from a media outlet, he learned of allegations of workplace harassment.
Valcárcel criticized the fact that the media had the information in front of him and criticized the fact that Besteiro publicly called for his suspension. Furthermore, he censored this is accused of not having acted “with sufficient diligence” in the case of the sexual harassment complaint by an advisor to the corporation, who had already resigned.
He claims to have acted with “absolute diligence”
On this subject, he defended having acted with “absolute diligence” as soon as he became aware of the complaint at the origin of the current events. “I discovered allegations of harassment, because there is no complaint or conviction“I took action, I met the people involved, including a councilor who resigned a few days later, being excluded from any political activity and any contact with the person who was allegedly harassed,” he said.
After ten days, he noted, this person resigned. “They say I had to be fired, but If I end it, I will continue to be a councillor, I will continue to be part of the plenary session and I will continue to have contact with the councilor concerned. and, in addition, he has access to the municipal council in any department,” he said, emphasizing that he had demanded the resignation of the councilor and that this “has become a reality.”
The councilor linked the publication of the complaint against him to the party climate and criticized the fact that Besteiro demand his resignation without hearing it and without having acted diligently in the case of the complaint against Tomé, whose resignation he criticized for demanding “two months later” to have knowledge, as he said, of the case of alleged sexual harassment.
He believes that Besteiro is trying to “dilute” his responsibility in the case of Tomé
“I demand the resignation of Besteiro for not having acted with the same diligence as me and for not having diluted his responsibility by relying on the facts reported against me and which have not yet been verified,” declared the councilor.
And the mayor of Barbadás estimated that Besteiro “must pretend dilute your responsibilities” before the announcement of the program on the Cuatro Code 10 channel which will broadcast the testimony of the mother of the victim of the alleged case of harassment of José Tomé.
He also attributed the actions of the leader of the Galician socialists against him to the fact that he one of the signatories of the manifesto promoted by the mayors and socialist leaders of the province of Orense, a document critical of the Galician leadership’s management of the Tomé case. “It is striking that I sign a document and this happens after four days,” he said.
Finally, when asked about this, the advisor explained that even He did not speak with the rest of the socialist advisors to find out if they will abandon the socialist acronyms with him.
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