The president of the Provincial Council of A Coruña, Valentín González Formoso, participated today in the inauguration of the Pepe Mujica promenade in Oleiros, advocating for politics as a tool to improve people's lives. In a space recovered for public enjoyment, Formoso evoked the humility, coherence, and service vocation of the former Uruguayan president, stating that "Above partisan interests or political ambitions, the important thing is to seek the common good".
The event, held at the Parque do Paraíso in Perillo, was attended by the mayor of Oleiros, Ángel García Seoane; the Uruguayan ambassador to Spain, Bernardo Greiver del Hoyo; and Uruguayan senator Blanca Rodríguez González, as well as Mujica's partner, Lucía Topolansky, who spoke via videoconference.
The provincial president linked Mujica's legacy to the purpose of the inaugurated project: recovering the estuary's environment so that the elderly have a pleasant place to walk, families can spend an afternoon outdoors, and children can learn to ride bicycles. "Politics also serves this purpose. To make possible those small things that make everyone's life better," he affirmed.
Faced with the confrontation and noise that mark public debate, Formoso highlighted the example of a man who knew poverty, persecution, and prison and who reached the presidency of Uruguay without losing "humility, coherence, or the ability to speak with people on equal terms." He also noted that the transformation of the area, with a promenade of over 11 kilometers connecting A Coruña, Culleredo, Cambre, and Oleiros, is "a real transformation. One that changes the landscape, recovers public spaces, and improves people's lives".
The tribute to Mujica also served to reaffirm the ties that unite Galicia with Uruguay and Argentina, recalling the generations of Galician emigrants who sought a better future and contributed to the progress of their host countries without forgetting their roots. "No matter how much some try to tear them apart today, there are invisible threads of history; threads made of families, memory, and affection, which continue and will continue to unite Galicia with both shores of the Río de la Plata," Formoso expressed.
The mayor of Oleiros, Ángel García Seoane, also praised the human and political trajectory of Pepe Mujica, highlighting his revolutionary struggle, the 14 years of prison and torture he suffered, and his subsequent capacity for forgiveness. "The name of Pepe Mujica is the best possible name for this magnificent public space," he stated. García Seoane also emphasized the "bonds of brotherhood" between Galicia and Uruguay, marked by Galician emigration and figures of local descent such as Claudio Wiliiam or Fernando Lugrís.
