Àngels Martínez i Castells (9 May 1948 – 1 September 2024) was a Spanish economist and politician in Catalonia. From 2015 to 2017 she represented Barcelona in the

Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia (, ; ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 members, known as Deputy (legislator), deput ...

Life and career

Martínez Castells was born in

Mollet del Vallès Mollet del Vallès () is a municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Vallès Oriental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Besòs (river), Besòs river, and is an important commun ...

. She attended the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

, where she graduated with a doctorate in economics, having previously also studied commerce, philosophy, literature, and law. Her thesis was directed by

Fabián Estapé Fabián Estapé Rodríguez (14 September 1923 – 1 February 2012) was a Spanish economist. He was born in Portbou. Estapé is considered to have been the person who introduced Joseph A. Schumpeter and John Kenneth Galbraith to Spain. He ...

, in which she studied governance in Portugal following the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

. After her PhD, Martínez Castells became a professor of economic policy in the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences at the University of Barcelona. In 1999 she became the first woman candidate of EUiA in the elections to the European Parliament representing the PCC in the IU-EUiA candidacy and in 2004 she was second in the ICV-EUiA candidacy led by Raul Romeva but was not elected. In 2000, Martínez Castells was the Vice President of the

Pere Ardiaca Pere Ardiaca i Martí (1909 in Balaguer, Lleida Province – 5 November 1986 in Moscow) was a Spanish Catalonia, Catalan communist politician. In 1982, he, Marià Pere, Josep Serradell and dozens of other communist leaders founded the Party of the ...

Foundation. Martínez Castells was a founding member of the

United and Alternative Left United and Alternative Left (, EUiA) is a political party in Catalonia, Spain. EUiA has 4000 members, and until 2019 was the Catalan correspondent of the Spain-wide United Left (IU). It was formed in 1998 as a schism from Initiative for Catal ...

, a Catalonian political party. She served for years as a member of the National Council of that party. Martínez Castells ran for

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

for the United and Alternative Left in 1999, and in 2004 she was again on the United and Alternative Left ticket, but she was not elected. In 2009, Martínez Castells co-founded, and then chaired, the public health platform ''Dempeus per la Salut Pública''. In 2013, she was elected to the Scientific Council of the

Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions and for Citizens' Action The Association pour la Taxation des Transactions financières et pour l'Action Citoyenne (''Association for the Taxation of financial Transactions and Citizen's Action'', ATTAC) is an activist organisation originally created to promote the ...

. In May 2015, Martínez Castells was ranked in the 32nd place on the party list of the

Barcelona en Comú Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a pop ...

in the municipal elections. In July 2015, she was elected in a primary election to hold the second position on the list of '' Podemos'' for the Catalonian parliamentary elections. After the coalition

Catalunya Sí que es Pot Catalunya Sí que es Pot (, also translated as "Catalonia It Is Possible" or "Yes, Catalonia Can") was a left-wing coalition composed of Podemos, Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV) and United and Alternative Left United and Alternative Left ...

was formed, she was also highly placed on the resultant party list, and she was elected to the Parliament of Catalonia where she served until 2017. Martínez Castells died on 1 September 2024, at the age of 76.

Controversy

In the session of 7 September 2017 in which the Parliament was voting on the

Law of juridical transition and foundation of the Republic Law of juridical transition and foundation of the Republic () is the name of a Catalan law whose objective was to guarantee a new legal framework, as well as the orderly succession of the administrations and the continuity of public services, duri ...

, the deputies of

Citizens Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...

and the

People's Party of Catalonia The People's Party of Catalonia (, , PP or PPC) is a conservative, Christian-democratic political party in Catalonia. It is the Catalan affiliate of the Spanish People's Party and holds strongly unionist positions.Carme Forcadell Maria Carme Forcadell i Lluís (; born 29 May 1955) is a Spanish politician from Catalonia. She is the former President of the Parliament of Catalonia, as well as a Catalan high school teacher, known for her Catalan independence activism. She w ...

, was reported in the press.Àngels Martínez (Podem) considera a Puigdemont "presidente de la república"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez Castells, Angels 1948 births 2024 deaths 21st-century Spanish women politicians Women politicians from Catalonia Members of the 11th Parliament of Catalonia Women economists Spanish women economists Economists from Catalonia University of Barcelona alumni Academic staff of the University of Barcelona People from Mollet del Vallès