- 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 [http://vicepresidencia.xunta.es/index.php Vice-President] and Minister for Social Affairs.Quintana was born in
Allariz , Galicia, on February 25, 1959. After graduating inNursing at theUniversity of Vigo he worked at the "Cristal Piñor Hospital" inOurense . 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 ofAllariz , and remained so until 2000, winning local elections with a clear overall majority. During his terms, the smallmunicipality of Allariz was awarded theEuropean Prize of Urbanism and it was chosen by theUnited Nations as one of the leading communities onsustainable development . From 1995 to 2000 Quintana was also chair of theGalician Federation of Provinces and Municipalities [http://www.fegamp.org] .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 charismaticXosé 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 anation
* Reform of the Statute of Autonomy
* Re-negotiating tax revenues from the Spanish central government in order to endorse Galicia with more financial resourcesControversy
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" [http://www.encontroirmandinho.org] (lead by former BNG president
Xosé Manuel Beiras ), and the "Movemento Pola Base" [http://www.polabase.net] .External links
* [http://www.quin.tv "Quin TV"] , multimedia portal of Anxo Quintana
* [http://www.bng-galiza.org Official site of the BNG]
* [http://vicepresidencia.xunta.es/index.php Vicepresidencia da Xunta de Galiza] , official site of the Office of the Vice-President of Galiciaee 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
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