Santander (EFE) She is demanding with herself and with those around her, she has not stopped until she has achieved the goal that she then set for herself: “to win first to govern later”.
Those who know her well say that Buruaga is a very thoughtful person, who thinks things over a lot, but when she makes a decision she “goes for it”, walking straight and overcoming obstacles.
Many would not have believed what they were hearing if six years ago, when they won the 12th Regional Congress of the PP by four votes, they had been told that María José Sáenz de Buruaga was going to end up taking over from Miguel Ángel Revilla in Peña Herbosa, the headquarters of the regional government.
It would also have been hard for many to believe four years ago, when she was proclaimed a candidate for the Presidency after the scare of the athlete Ruth Beitia, the first choice of the then president of the popular Pablo Casado for the 2019 electoral poster… And some have maintained the skepticism until election night itself.
“We have made history”
“We have made history”, the president of the PP of Cantabria proclaimed euphorically that night when she joined the affiliates and supporters who were waiting for her to celebrate the long-awaited victory at the polls, hand in hand with Gema Igual, re-elected mayor of Santander with an absolute majority and his number two on the list for Parliament.
A few minutes before, the PP had added its 15th seat, to three of the absolute majority, a result that was not predicted by even the most optimistic polls for the popular.
Gone are the bad times, the harsh criticism and even the insults of those who called her a traitor when she decided to take a step forward and dispute the Presidency of the party with Ignacio Diego, who had trusted her as his right hand, in a controversial congress that ended up in court.
And also the bad taste of attending the presentation as a candidate for the Presidency of Cantabria of the Olympian Ruth Beitia, who ended up resigning in just a few days because circumstances overcame her.
María José Sáenz de Buruaga was the first woman in command of the PP in Cantabria and it was her turn to heal wounds and recover unity, a mission that she already fully considers accomplished.
Now she is the first female president of the Government of Cantabria, after achieving the objective that she has not tired of repeating throughout the campaign: to govern alone and reach an agreement with the PRC of Miguel Ángel Revilla so that he abstains and facilitates his inauguration .
Looking at the future
And nothing more opposed to the media Revilla, who has been accusing the entire legislature of dedicating himself to touring television sets instead of governing to solve the problems of Cantabria.
The leader of the regionalists has counterattacked in the campaign, making him hide even in electoral posters, where the well-known photograph of the smiling politician asking for the vote was replaced by a drawing of Buruaga “looking at the future.”
The quotation marks correspond to the interpretation that the PP makes of the poster, with which, as they maintain, he wanted to symbolize the commitment to change, even distancing himself from the rest of the candidates of his party, who opted for the traditional photography.
Buruaga’s political profile is that of a manager whose greatest pride is having managed to finish the works, bogged down for years, of the Marqués de Valdecilla Hospital when she was vice president and Minister of Health in the government of Ignacio Diego, in 2011. to 2015.
Born in the fishing village of Suances in 1968, she graduated in Law after leaving Physics studies hanging, at the age of 23 she joined the Popular Party and began in politics as a town councilor.
Divorced and remarried to a photojournalist, Miguel de las Cuevas, she has a 24-year-old daughter, Araceli, from her first marriage.
When his obligations allow him, he likes to get lost on Los Locos beach, in Suances, he keeps all the Alejandro Sanz records in the glove compartment and his favorite writer is Isabel Allende. One of his pending subjects is to travel more outside of Spain and the first destination he has in mind is Argentina.
Those who know her well say that in Buruaga she is very close, empathetic and affectionate, although it may not seem so due to the vehemence with which she usually defends her positions.
They also describe her as a very hard-working woman, a little ant, a perfectionist who likes to have everything under control, without letting anything escape her.
By Lola Camús.