How was David Pujol, according to his friend Antoni Trobat: "They taught him that things don't fall from the sky"

PalmAmong his references were Subcomandante Marcos and Malcolm X, one of his idols when he was young. He played basketball, but he has also practiced less conventional sports for years, such as boxing. He is a fan of Ismael Serrano. He studied Catalan Philology at the UIB and then Anthropology at the UB. When the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, students in the Ramon Llull building at the UIB filled the walls with graffiti against the war. Near the main stairs, one can still be seen. It was made by David Pujol, now a Catalan teacher and candidate for MÉS per Palma for the mayoralty of Ciutat. “Like the others, they wanted to cover it up, but it can still be distinguished”. This is recounted by Antoni Trobat, David's friend since their university years.

They met at a meeting of the Bloc d’Estudiants Independentistes (Independent Students' Bloc), which that same year became the SEPC. “We shared various passions and youthful impulses. We liked to discuss at length, even if we didn't always agree, action, going out into the street. And like most young people in the early 2000s, we lived between activism and partying”. Together, they experienced glorious nights in the indie and techno scene at the beginning of the century in Ciutat, in party venues like Cultura Club and Casino Royale.

From the beginnings of that friendship, Antoni gets excited about a specific thing: “David did not come from the progressive schools of Palma like most of the independentist left militants. He came from a normal Mallorcan family, from working people who, with effort, were able to send their children to La Salle. However, David had discovered that he was different, that he had his own idealism and concerns. And he has always combined this romantic idealism with being down-to-earth. From a young age, he exudes a very specific strength: he is of firm ideas and good manners,” Antoni defends.

His father, a Santander bank employee, comes from Arracó (Andratx); his mother, an administrator for many years at a hotel, is a miller. David, and his older brother, Òscar –“who has always been his great example of overcoming adversity”– grew up in the Son Oliva neighborhood: “This has given him street smarts and the ability to understand and defend various registers. It is not easy, in politics, to find people who are not monochrome, who do not only relate to one type of person. In his case, this activist and nocturnal drive brought him into contact with people from very different social sectors. And this is a great asset,” he reflects. Furthermore, he is curious, “he likes to set himself challenges, and this characteristic has also accompanied him in the political sphere.”

At home, David was taught that things don't fall from the sky, and that one must pull chestnuts out of the fire oneself. Thus, the candidate for mayor of Palma combined work and studies throughout his student years: for example, he worked as a stocker in a clothing store; also at the airport, both on the tarmac and as a baggage handler. “He is very clear that one has to work for it,” says his friend.

Despite coming from a hard political position – anti-capitalism, the independentist left – David “has always played the role of trying to find consensus”: “He is a person open to dialogue, with a good temperament,” notes Antoni. He also explains that in those effervescent 2000s he was keeping an eye on all trends, new ways of living, of doing things: he became a vegetarian in 2001 and was linked – despite being a great city dweller! – to agroecology, to give a few examples. This “romantic idealism”, “deep convictions” and a “pleasant and approachable” temperament are some of the aspects that, for Antoni, make David Pujol special.