The sovereignty movement pays tribute to Pere Sampol at a mass event in Montuïri.
The Joan Mas i Verd Primary School hosted a heartfelt memorial service for the Mallorcan politician and intellectual, attended by more than 600 people.
PalmThis past Sunday, Montuïri hosted a moving tribute to Pere Sampol, former vice president of the Catalan government and one of the founders of the PSM (Mallorca Socialist Party), who died on April 25.
The event, organized by MÉS por Mallorca and held at the Joan Mas i Verd Primary School, was attended by more than 600 people, including Francina Armengol, former President of the Catalan Government and Speaker of Parliament; Cosme Bonet, former regional minister and senator; Fina Santiago, former Minister of Social Services; Miquel Oliver, Mayor of Manacor; Antoni Llabrés, President of the Balearic Cultural Work Organization; and Miquel Gelabert, President of the STEI Intersindical (Spain's Inter-Union Institute of Education), among others.
According to the pro-independence party, the decision was made to hold the tribute there because the school was conceived and inaugurated by its godfather, the Republican mayor of Montuïri, a year before he was assassinated by the Falangists. The coordinator of MÁS por Mallorca, Lluís Apesteguia, addressed the audience, pledging that the party "will continue the legacy" of Pere Sampol, which, he said, is "fully alive." "One of those responsible for the modernization of Mallorcan nationalism in the 1970s," he emphasized, adding that he transformed it into "an interclass project that recognized that the country is inseparable from its people and that the fight for language, culture, and self-government is meaningless without social justice."
Journalist Margalida Mateu hosted the event, which included three roundtable discussions with people close to Sampol and the Socialist Party of Mallorca (PSM). The mayor of Montuïri, Paula Amengual, emphasized that Sampol, "beyond the political arena, was a man of coherence, integrity, and faithfulness to his values, deeply rooted in the land."
The first panel discussion focused on the political figure of Sampol, with the participation of former PSM MP Maria Antònia Vadell and her founding colleagues, Sebastià Serra and Damià Pons. The second panel highlighted the Sampol who "set the course and paved the way" with Mateu Morro, with whom he met as PSM leader and in the first Progress Pact; Tuni Allès of PSM Menorca and vice-president general from 1999 to 2003; and the former president of the Valencian Nationalist Bloc, Pere Major. All those who participated emphasized and agreed that Sampol was a leading figure of progressive Mallorcan nationalism, a defender of language, culture, and collective rights.
Also during the event, several of the politician's friends revealed details about "his lesser-known side to the general public." Singer Gloria Julià provided the music for the event, which concluded with a few words from Sampol's family, specifically his son Biel and his sister Margalida. Two videos about Sampol were also shown. The event also featured a performance by the Montuïri xeremiers.
