“I’m going to reach the mayor of Madrid, I have it very clear.” He told us members of the journalistic peña Cuarto Poder in June 2018. At that time he was on the campaign and overwhelmed his security and ease with the press. He came from a private company and his objectives were very clear. A year later, she held the position of deputy mayor. And without even having reached its first anniversary, the pandemic arrived. Little time separates that meeting from this one, but Villacís (43) is another. It gives off serenity, but also a certain sadness. He denies it: “I maintain myself with the same strength and energy as before.” Perhaps what is is infinitely more seasoned. And more mature. To the charge and the pandemic must be added a surprise pregnancy, a separation and suddenly being on the cover of the magazine “Semana” for having a new love, Rubén Amón. But it doesn’t go in there. «It cuts me off …». It is the only moment when he blushes. On the rest, see his daughters, the reconciliation of his family and work life, his stance on radical feminism and his opinion on compliments, he speaks with the same naturalness as always.

-He comes right now from the farewell for the closure of the Villa Rosa tablao. Sad…

“Yes … It was an act of loss.” This year he would have turned one hundred and there are certain things that are irretrievable. No measures are being taken by the central government, they are not being given the direct aid they need, many plans are announced but nothing is being carried out and it is a very sad and unacceptable cultural decapitalization. It has made me very sad and the farewell has been heartbreaking.

-Maybe I’m already too tired …

-Do not. We are inexhaustible. The more things you have to do, the more you organize. At least it’s my case. I have always worked hard and that has more to do with a way of being than with the occupation you have. As a lawyer you can work a lot, like mom too … Women have a level of self-demand sometimes too high. And that also leads us to feel some frustration at times.

– Are we demanding ourselves too much precisely because we are women?

-Yes. The answer is a resounding yes. We are burdened with many things, we do not want to stop doing anything, we feel the obligation to have to prove even more and that is almost always accompanied by a tad of conscience, in case you have done enough as a mother, as a worker … It is too heavy a burden that we have to learn to let go of. We have to learn to forgive ourselves more things.

– How are you handling your conciliation?

–Well, organizing myself. I am lucky to have my parents in Madrid, and that cannot be said by many Madrilenians. I hope my daughters are as grateful to me as I am to my parents for their help. Anyway I try to get to everything because I am not going to lose my daughters, I have it very clear. It’s compatible. The only thing that happens is that you sleep less (laughs). But with the arrival of the baby … I am not going to miss it because it is wonderful.

– You did not count on that third pregnancy …

“No, of course, that motherhood was out of the question.” It has been found, not sought. I hope Inés doesn’t read this when she’s older … (laughs). I will tell him some day. I speak very naturally about things with my daughters.

– He will live it differently with 20 than with 40 …

-Totally. With the former I was a bit messy, I lived everything in a very absorbing way, with anguish, obsessed with perfection, you go to the hospital many times before everything, you look at them while they sleep to see if they are breathing … With Inés I live everything in a much more relaxed way and I’m enjoying it a lot more. She also makes it easy. It is very funny and cheerful.

– Do you have the feeling of leaving something on the way or are you in a full moment of your life?

– I think you never have to have the feeling of living a full moment because to achieve things you always have to be a bit nonconformist that makes you keep fighting, although at a reasonable level. In general I would say that I have a lot of balance in my life, but I still want to do a lot of things.

– In politics too?

-Yes. I haven’t been in politics for long, really. But I did not get into politics, I got involved to do politics, and they are very different things. People also need us to talk about what is happening, that stores and hospitality services are closed every day, that people are going out of work … But not that we talk about politicians. Perhaps at this moment we need those of us who know what it is to experience a crisis in private companies the most, and that is my case. I come to transform and that makes it more credible. I don’t know what my journey will be, but my project is to change Spain. Especially at this time, which is more necessary than ever. Sensibility, moderation, agreements and what we women do every day in our families, in our jobs, with our children and with our partners, must be defended tooth and nail. Now belligerence, insult and anger are rewarded more, and that gets us nowhere. We know it.

– Do women need to continue demonstrating to vindicate ourselves?

Yes, we must continue to do so because thanks to what has been done historically, things have been achieved. Of course, the form is free. What I don’t understand is someone telling us women how to do it, as if we didn’t know. I get comments on my Twitter that are not understandable.

-For example?

“Well, I was criticized for wearing heels.” Forgives? Respecting women is respecting women. Throughout. Dress as they dress, manifest or not. I am represented by a woman who has to take her son to work as much as one who decides to temporarily abandon her professional career to dedicate herself to her family.

“Are we our worst enemies?”

–But from ourselves, starting from self-demand.

– In politics there is a lot of anger among women on this issue. Look at Irene Montero.

–Let’s see, when I mess with Irene Montero I do it because it raises a law that doesn’t make sense and I don’t care whether you’re Irene or Ireno. If the law is technically botched, it is. But you have to maintain education. These are very basic questions that our parents have taught us and it would not hurt us if we kept them. We must show society that we can treat ourselves appropriately so that they do not have that dire opinion of us. And I’m not recommending anything that I don’t recommend to my daughters every day.

– Do you accept compliments well?

-If they are funny, yes. And we know that perfectly well: if there is a desire to please or, on the contrary, to offend and inhibit. If the waiter who gives me coffee every day tells me that I am beautiful, I am delighted. But neither do I intend to impose my sensitivity on all women. The problem with Irene Montero and company is that they do want to impose it. Why don’t they admit diversity? That, to me, is the most illiberal thing in the world.

– Have you ever felt attacked for being a woman in the exercise of your political functions?

-Well, let’s see … It is that deep down it is politics of brush stroke. There are those who want to confirm their prejudices and can use assumptions and stereotypes that are quite macho. And then they go to feminists … It is that hypocrisy that I think must always be denounced.

– Returning to the subject of your daughters, how do you cope with the pandemic and adolescence?

-Well, if he came to catch us it would have been different, because at least they have many windows to the outside, but even so it is affecting them. In the way of relating, at school … We will see over time what it translates into.

– Do you help her with Inés?

-Well … (laughs). Adolescent girls “adore” and live in their world. They have enough in their heads because they are training and wondering many things. I dont complain. It is true that I am no longer the supermother that I was for them when they were little, but I have a good relationship, always being a mother first. I think that role must be maintained. I have very interesting conversations with them, but I am still their mother. There are rules and you have to follow them. Although I am not to impose, but more to explain.

– Don’t you notice your absences?

-Do not. First, because I organize myself. I am always aware of them. Moms have a radar for that. But beware, things happen to me. I made Ines’ Christmas ornament at the last minute and it almost didn’t arrive … And this morning I realized that there was no milk in the fridge (laughs).

– Do you notice the separation from your husband in that sense?

– We organize ourselves very well. He is very present and we have a good relationship.

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