Maria Isabel Pozueta Fernández (born 21 September 1965) is a Basque sexologist, activist, politician and a member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain.

Early life

Pozueta was born on 21 September 1965 in Altsasu,

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

. She has a degree in sociology from the University of Deusto and a master's degree in

sexology Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

from the

University of Alcalá The University of Alcalá ( es, Universidad de Alcalá) is a public university located in Alcalá de Henares, a city 35 km (22 miles) northeast of Madrid in Spain and also the third-largest city of the region. It was founded in 1293 as a ...

's Institute of Sexological Sciences.

Career

Pozueta is an expert in sexology and co-education. Between 1994 and 2006 she taught sex education at the Center for Women's Care in Etxarri-Aranatz, teaching individuals and groups and training professionals. Later she taught at various education centres in Gipuzkoa and Navarre. She has also worked for the municipal youth service in Vitoria-Gasteiz and was director of Biok Tú y Yo, a couples therapy centre in

Burlata Burlada ( eu, Burlata) is a municipality in Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a fora ...

. At the 1999 regional election Pozueta was placed 31st on Euskal Herritarrok's list of candidates in Navarre but the alliance only won eight seats in the region and as a result she failed to get elected. At the 2003 local elections in Altsasu she was placed 11th on the Altsasuko Indarra (AI) electoral alliance's list of the candidates but the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

annulled the list as it considered AI to be a successor to Batasuna which had been banned in March 2003. She was one of the founders of the Altsasu branch of the Gure Esku Dago which campaigns for

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

for the Basque Country. Pozueta came to national prominences as the mother of Adur Ramirez de Alda Pozueta, one of eight youths imprisoned for the Altsasu incident in 2016. She was the spokesperson for the Altsasu Gurasoak group which represented the mothers of the prisoners. She resigned as spokesperson in March 2019, though she remained a member, in order to contest the general election as the group had stated that it would not support any candidate. At the April 2019 general election Pozueta was placed first on EH Bildu's list of candidates in

but the alliance failed to win any seats in the region. She contested the 2019 November general election as a EH Bildu candidate in Navarre and was elected to the Congress of Deputies.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pozueta, Bel 1965 births EH Bildu politicians Euskal Herritarrok politicians Living people Members of the 14th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Politicians from Navarre People from Barranca (comarca) Spanish sociologists Spanish sexologists University of Alcalá alumni University of Deusto alumni Women members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Women sexologists