Forged in the municipal politics in Ripoll and later in the Congress of Deputies, Teresa Jorda landed in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Ramaderia in 2018, forming part of the Government of Quim Torra.
In her first months as ‘councillor’, she began to be known for the controversy of the raw milkwhen he encouraged people to consume this product, a decision that did not save him critics and lynchings. Through his close and smiling style, he tried to build bridges with the agricultural world.
With the surprise of Esquerra to Junts in the 2020 elections, his job turned upside down. She was one of the ‘councillors’ that he repeated, this time in the Executive commanded by Aragonese but their roles and responsibilities changed. was born on Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda Departmentwhich would include the fight against the climate crisis as well as powers over fishing, livestock and agriculture.
“If farmers and environmentalists do not agree, the cement companies appear, and they always win”
Teresa Jorda
Jordafrom this ‘new’ position, had to face the consequences storm Gloria and ensure aid to farmers throughout Catalonia, who accumulated millions in losses. It was after this phenomenon that Jordà decided address the problem of the Ebro deltaa critical zone, devoured centimeter by centimeter by the sea.
climate crisis
Jorda He presented the Delta Strategy, in which he proposes a Dutch-style delta model, stopping marine intrusion with technological dikes. The Ebro delta also helped him to build bridges with Moncloa, specifically with the minister Teresa Riberaof the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
The fact that the environment skills were now within what was previously called Agriculture caused friction and tension with the agricultural sector, but Jordà always defended the understanding between these two sectors. “If farmers and ecologists do not find agreements, you know who arrives. Then, the cement ones appear, and they always win,” he warned a few times to seek consensus between them, referring to the sector of the constructionthe infrastructures and the buildings.
One of the subjects that has remained pending is to decree the new delimitation of the protected area in the Llobregat delta, something that Europe demands and that has not been exempt from controversy precisely because of the differences between these two souls who shared ‘conselleria’.
Drought
In recent months, the work of Jorda has focused on the great problem of Catalonia: the drought. The ‘consellera’ has had to face the agricultural restrictions and the losses of the farmers, who will have to be given aid, one of the jobs of the new ‘conseller’, and also the management of this scarce resource.
Jordà has also been in charge of negotiating with the ministry the investment to the expansion of the desalination plant at the mouth of the Tordera river. In these dialogues, he has asserted his more than cordial relationship with Minister Ribera. On the other hand, his demands have not borne the same fruit with the Ministry of Agriculture, to whom Jordà has claimed involvement to modernize Canal d’Urgell on multiple occasions.
The Department of Jordà failed in the drought peak by the disagreement on the sanctions to the towns that consume more than the allowed. Finally, weeks later an agreement was reached. The ‘councillor’ opted for the leadership of the director of the Catalan Water Agency, Samuel Reyes, when it came to explaining the drought to the public and the media.
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Jordà has some left pending subjects in terms of ecological transition, a process that has not accelerated as it should in recent years, and also in the field of biodiversity and the protection of ecosystems: the natural heritage law has not been approved nor has it been officially created nature agency. In addition, it is also pending to approve the catalan waste law.
What Jordà has achieved is normalize the fact that there is a ‘conselleria’ focused on mitigate the effects of the climate crisis. With a particularity that will remain. To do so, understanding must be achieved with one of the sectors causing the problem, which at the same time is one of the forgotten engines of Catalonia: the agriculture.