Eduard Rivas has resigned as chief of staff to Catalan President Salvador Illa, ten months after a judicial investigation was opened into alleged irregularities in public contracts awarded during his tenure as mayor of Esparreguera, Barcelona. Xavier Amor, until now secretary for local governments and relations with Aran, will succeed him.
Rivas served as mayor of Esparreguera from 2015 to 2024 and is being investigated in proceedings concerning municipal contracts from that period. When the case was opened in January, the Catalan government expressed its full confidence in Illa’s chief of staff.
That same month, Mossos d’Esquadra officers seized Rivas’s mobile phone on the orders of a judge in Martorell, Barcelona, as part of the investigation into contracts awarded by the municipality. Rivas, who has appeared in the case as an investigated party, is represented by a defence lawyer.
The investigation is examining alleged irregularities involving the Foundation for Labour Inclusion, based in Esparreguera and focused on providing employment for people with intellectual disabilities. Authorities are looking into the possibility that some funds from public contracts may have been used to cover alleged private expenses incurred by individuals linked to the organisation.
Amor’s appointment as Illa’s new chief of staff is expected to be formally approved at the Catalan government’s meeting on Tuesday, according to the Presidency Department. Born in Pineda de Mar in 1975, he was mayor of the Barcelona-area town for 17 years, from 2007 to 2024, after previously serving as a councillor for eight years. He also chaired the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia between 2013 and 2019.
Sources: elDiario.es.