Aina Vidal, a decade defending workers in Congress that her colleagues proudly vindicate: "One of the best parliamentarians"

Aina Vidal's trajectory in Congress this Thursday gathered praise from Sumar colleagues and Gabriel Rufián, spokesperson for Esquerra Republicana. Among the messages of recognition appear her ability to speak clearly, her commitment to workers, and the affection of those who have shared benches, negotiations, and debates with her for a decade.

The Comuns deputy ends this stage after five legislatures, with a career especially linked to pensions and labor rights. She also leaves interventions that moved the chamber, such as that response to the no-confidence motion by the far-right Vox that she closed by vindicating life and joy. This Thursday marks exactly six years since that speech.

Vidal is not part of the Broad Front candidacy for Barcelona, headed by Ada Colau and Ernest Urtasun for the November 29 elections. In her public message, she thanked the trust received, acknowledged mistakes and pending tasks, and vindicated shared battles. "I leave proud", she wrote, before announcing that she will continue participating in the campaign.

A unionist who brought labor rights to Congress

Born in Barcelona in 1985, Vidal began working at the age of 16 and experienced jobs in hospitality and customer service before reaching institutions. Her trajectory in Comisiones Obreras, where she assumed the coordination of Acció Jove, the youth organization of the union in Catalonia, preceded her election as a deputy in December 2015. She entered Congress at 30 years old with experience in organizing young workers.

That background has continued in her parliamentary responsibilities. She was a spokesperson in the Pacto de Toledo Commission, which develops recommendations on the public pension system, and in the last legislature, she chaired the Commission on Labor, Social Economy, Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations. To these functions, she added the deputy spokesperson for the Sumar group, from which she intervened in some of the toughest debates with the opposition.

Her activity allows following specific issues beyond grand speeches. In March 2021, she defended the repeal of article 315.3 of the Penal Code, which established specific penalties for coercion during a strike. In May 2022, she called for progress in the rights of domestic workers, with protection against unemployment and labor recognition, and participated in the drafting of the Employment Law. Labor reform and the defense of public pensions also occupied a significant part of her work.

Care has been present until the end of this stage. Last September 16, she asked Minister Elma Saiz in the plenary about the CUME, the benefit for caring for minors with cancer or other serious illnesses, which compensates for the loss of income of those who reduce their working hours to care for them. She acknowledged the government's progress but conveyed the exhaustion of families and denounced the obstacles they face with mutual insurance companies. "Mutual insurance companies cannot substitute medical criteria for economic criteria," she maintained. In her message this Thursday, she has again cited CUME among the issues she still wants to fight for.

The "long live life" with which she responded to the far-right Vox

One of the most difficult moments of her career occurred in January 2020. Vidal had made public that she suffered from aggressive cancer and had been absent from the first investiture vote for Pedro Sánchez. Before the second, she wrote a brief commitment, "On the 7th I will not fail". That day she went to Congress and received an ovation; Pablo Iglesias thanked her for her presence from the rostrum and gave her a bouquet of flowers. Her vote was one of the 167 supports with which Sánchez was invested, against 165 votes against.

Months later, on October 22, she spoke during Santiago Abascal's motion of no confidence. She went up to the rostrum wearing a t-shirt that said "Fight like a girl", and responded to the far-right with a speech about solidarity, feminism, and the defense of public services in the midst of the pandemic.

Vidal spoke of those who had sustained life during the health emergency and vindicated women's ability to decide their own future. "In our fear, we rule," she affirmed. The closing of her intervention, with her shouts of "Long live life!" and "Long live joy!", provoked applause from a large part of the Chamber.

Those words reappear now in her message of a new stage. Between one intervention and another, six years of parliamentary activity have passed, a labor reform, debates on pensions, and new responsibilities within her political space. In 2023, she led the candidacy for Barcelona and represented Sumar in the RTVE debate of seven spokespersons, where she defended the government's labor and social measures against Vox.

Gabriel Rufián, Tesh Sidi, and Toni Valero recognize her work

The recognition from Gabriel Rufián has been one of the most expressive. The ERC spokesperson, with whom Vidal has shared debates inside and outside Congress from different political positions, has described her as "one of the best parliamentarians Catalonia has had in all this time". To that praise, he added a personal assessment, "tough but fair" and "great person," before wishing her luck.

The Más Madrid deputy Tesh Sidi has highlighted both the colleague and the public representative. "Friend and great deputy. I will miss you very much this legislature," she wrote. Her message ends with a thank you and a declaration of closeness, "always on your team."

From Izquierda Unida, Toni Valero has placed Vidal's value in her way of explaining and defending the interests of workers. He considers her one of the most eloquent speakers who have passed through Congress. "She has given voice to the world of work because she comes from the trenches and always has her feet on the ground," he said, before concluding that "she leaves a red mark". Her benchmate Nahuel González has also claimed her as "very great".

Vidal, for her part, has confirmed that she will remain involved in the 29N campaign. "I'm still here. With the same convictions, more experience and all the desire to keep fighting," she wrote.