Anxo Quintana

Anxo Manoel Quintana González, commonly known as Anxo Quintana, is the current leader of the Galician Nationalist Bloc (Bloque Nacionalista Galego, BNG), the main nationalist party in Galicia. At present, he is a partner in the Galician Government, holding the positions of Vice-President and Minister for Social Affairs.

Quintana was born in Allariz, Galicia, on February 25, 1959. After graduating in Nursing at the University of Vigo he worked at the Cristal Piñor Hospital in Ourense. He has been distinguished with an honorary award from the Society of General Medicine for his work in primary healthcare in rural communities.

Political career

As a politician, he started collaborating with the rural nationalist trade unionism in his youth. He is a member of the Galician Nationalist Bloc since its foundation in 1982.

Quintana rose to national prominence in 1989, when he was appointed as Mayor of Allariz, and remained so until 2000, winning local elections with a clear overall majority. During his terms, the small municipality of Allariz was awarded the European Prize of Urbanism and it was chosen by the United Nations as one of the leading communities on sustainable development. From 1995 to 2000 Quintana was also chair of the Galician Federation of Provinces and Municipalities

In 1999, he was appointed by the Parliament of Galicia as senator in the Spanish Senate as the sole representative of the BNG. He eventually had to leave his municipal office in 2000 due to clashes with his new role as senator. In 2003 he replaced charismatic Xosé Manuel Beiras in the leadership of BNG.

Following the 2005 Galician elections and subsequent political pacts with the Socialist Party of Galicia (PSdG), Quintana becomes Vice-President of Galicia. He also holds responsibilities as Conselleiro (Minister) for Social Affairs. Quintana has expressed that some of his main goals during term are:

• Promotion of Galician language and culture
• Extending social services to all citizens, with a special attention to women as a disadvantaged group
• Achieving the official recognition from the Spanish government of Galicia as a nation
• Reform of the Statute of Autonomy
• Re-negotiating tax revenues from the Spanish central government in order to endorse Galicia with more financial resources

Controversy

Quintana has come under criticism from within the ranks of BNG as he has being accused of trying to centralise all powers, thus reducing the influence of the assemblies and the average party militant. This criticism and claims for "transparency and internal democracy" have resulted in the formation of two parallel organizations within the party: the Encontro Irmandinho (lead by former BNG president Xosé Manuel Beiras), and the Movemento Pola Base

External links

• "Quin TV", multimedia portal of Anxo Quintana
• Official site of the BNG
• Vicepresidencia da Xunta de Galiza, official site of the Office of the Vice-President of Galicia

See also

• Galician nationalism
• Galician Nationalist Bloc
• Xunta de Galicia

References

• Barreiro, H. et al. (2002): "A Galicia política e o nacionalismo do BNG", in Tempos Novos, no. 59, p. 24-33
• Beramendi, J.G. (2003): "Fin de ciclo no BNG? : Beiras desafía a hexemonía da UPG", in Tempos novos, p. 48-50