Ruth Porta Cantoni could have devoted her life to any lofty purpose.
She had a remarkable heritage.
She was a woman of brilliant intelligence.
She had plenty of work capacity.
He could have simply lived on the rents, indulging his inexhaustible cultural curiosity, cultivating the arts and sciences with delight.
He could have gone for the money, investing his wits and his leadership skills in the corporate world.
He could have opened a successful professional office, resolving other people's issues with solvency and profit.
But Ruth Porta decided to dedicate her life to public service.
Because to her intelligence and effort, she Ruth she always added an infinite generosity to define her character.
That, and firm convictions in favor of social justice.
Nor did she precisely opt for the carpet and tinsel in her vocation as a public servant.
In choosing opposition she did not look among the traditionally most powerful bodies.
She chose to be an auditor, in the local administration as well, and she was the first of her promotion, of course.
Determined to apply her ideological and moral commitment to the transformation of reality, she elected a member of the party of workers and workers, the Socialist Party.
From below, she from the grassroots militancy and the organic cadres of the local group that she touched.
And her first public position had to be as a councilor, although in a landmark city council, that of the capital of Spain, that of Madrid, no less.
There I was lucky to meet her.
She was the penultimate on the socialist list that the people of Madrid elected in 1995;
I was the last.
Some time later, in 2000, our colleagues commissioned both of us to lead that municipal group.
Ruth was always a fighter.
She fought against the adversary in defense of her ideas.
She sometimes fought against her ally, if she was timorous or indolent.
And she, even, she fought against her friend, when she seemed to give in to the temptation of fainting or surrender.
Because she never gave up and she never gave up.
And when someone decides to face the obstacles with a fight, they have to accept blows.
The blows that Ruth received were not few.
From those in front, when I beat them with reasons.
And from those next to her, when she demanded the same level of commitment, dedication and efficiency that she invested in each battle.
Perhaps his greatest enemies were won in the war against corruption.
Because there the enemies despise legitimate arguments and lack ethical limits in the fray.
He suffered the blows where it hurt the most, in the family.
Ruth Porta passed through the Madrid City Council, the Madrid Assembly, the Spanish Senate, and several municipalities in the Madrid community.
In all of her destinations, she earned the gratitude of her bosses, the affection of her companions, and the respect of most of her adversaries.
Because another of the mainstays in Ruth's personality was loyalty.
Loyalty to the values of her character, loyalty to the principles of her political action, and loyalty to the people with whom she worked.
Loyalty in consent and in disagreement.
Those who read this and will work with Ruth will have to smile when they remember the endless discussions about each issue, the important ones and the irrelevant ones.
Because Ruth gave all the fights.
And, in the end, loyalty with what was decided and with her people.
Always.
Without fissures.
Ruth was called to lead the change in Madrid.
The people of Madrid voted for her for this task, along with the rest of the PSOE candidates in those regional elections of 2003. She was key in the election of the person who writes this as general secretary and candidate.
She was fundamental in the program, in the campaign and in the government plan.
And she suffered like everyone else, like no one, the frustration for that promising and unborn government.
I pride myself on being one of the socialists with less sexist prejudices, perhaps.
And the credit is not mine.
No one who has worked with Ruth Porta can entertain for a second the thought that women are the fairer sex, the lesser gender, or the deferred half.
I have never seen her claim equal treatment for men.
Because I never saw anyone dare to deny it.
He has faced the last battle of his life like all the others.
Head on and giving everything.
Giving us another life lesson.
One more.
With his family nearby, Enrique and Laura.
For those of us who were fortunate enough to share the road with her, she leaves us with an infinite void.
It comforts us to know that he had an intense life and that he was happy.
Rafael Simancas
is a Spanish socialist politician, current Secretary of State for Relations with the Courts and Constitutional Affairs.
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