Authorities celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Santiago de Galicia” as capital


SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, June 29 (EUROPA PRESS) –

civil and military authorities have participated this Wednesday in Santiago in an institutional act to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the approval of the Statute of Capital for Compostelaa city from which have highlighted its role as the “spiritual capital of Europe” and as a goal for the thousands of people of all nationalities who travel the Jacobean Route.

In the act have participatedamong others, the president of the Galician ParliamentMiguel Santalices, the government delegateJose Minones, the President of the XuntaAlfonso Rueda, and the mayor of CompostelaXosé Sánchez Bugallo, as well as the Vice President Diego Calvothe President of the Provincial Council of A CoruñaValentín González Formoso, and members of the current corporation and the one that existed two decades ago.

During the act, in the Pazo de Raxoithe president of the Galician Chamber has highlighted the “succession of successes” that led to this statute, and that started both with the Constitution of 1978 and with the Statute of Autonomy of Galicia and the decree that established the headquarters of the autonomous bodies in Santiago, since “None of this would have been possible without democracy and without autonomy.”

santalices, that Compostela has been referred to as “Santiago de Galicia”, has opted for the union against the “contradiction of certain localisms” and has encouraged Galicia to function as a “single city”.

De Santiago has highlighted its role as “capital of an open and friendly Galicia, proud of its distinct identity but fully integrated into the Kingdom of Spain” and in the Europe built together.

For his part, the government delegate has ensured that this city “was always a decisive protagonist in the construction of Galicia”, as well as European spirituality through the Camino de Santiago. “Neither Brussels, nor Strasbourg, nor Paris, nor of course Berlin, the capital of Europe by history, of course also by culture and symbolism, is Santiago de Compostela”, Miñones pointed out.

Santiago, he added, is important in its territorial dimension, as a “lighthouse of the ancient kingdom of Galicia” and of the current community; as well as for heritage, as a pilgrimage destination and a World Heritage Site. However, Miñones has also claimed the value and role of the citizens who inhabit it.

A “historic repair”

The person in charge of opening the event was the mayor, Xose Sanchez Bugallowhat has reviewed the acts that led in 2002 to write and unanimously approve the statute which gave official status to what, de facto, had already been established, the character of Santiago as the capital of Galicia.

This decision, Bugallo has said, represented a “historic repair” whose origins have marked the disappearance of the province of Santiago in the nineteenth century. Also, he added, It was something “very positive” for Compostelabut also “for Galicia”, an agreement that went ahead thanks to “unanimity”.

With this, the councilor has highlighted the importance of cohesion and dialogue on “certain issues” that “should be left out of public debate” with the aim that everyone row in the same direction. “Because the country is above the party”, he has settled it.

Finally, the President of the Xunta also has affected in his speech in “social cohesion” that allows “reaching these consensuses”. “Compostela is a meeting point, it has been for many centuries,” said Rueda, who mentioned the importance of the Camino de Santiago.

The statute of capital status, Alfonso Rueda pointed out, includes, in addition to formal recognition, the admission that Compostela, as the headquarters of the institutions of Galicia, “has a series of charges” that have this document with “a budgetary reflection”.


Authorities celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Santiago de Galicia” as capital