Ana Pontón Explained

Office1:Member of the Parliament of Galicia
Birth Date:27 July 1977
Party:Galician Nationalist Bloc (since 1993)
Birth Name:Ana Belén Pontón Mondelo
Office:Spokesperson of the Galician Nationalist Bloc
Term Start:28 February 2016
Termstart1:7 February 2004
Constituency1:A Coruña
Alma Mater:University of Santiago de Compostela
Birth Place:Sarria, Spain
Predecessor:Xavier Vence
Children:1

Ana Belén Pontón Mondelo (born 27 July 1977)[1] is a Spanish political scientist and politician for the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG). She has served in the Parliament of Galicia since 2004, and in 2016 was the first woman to be elected spokesperson of the BNG. She has been leader of the opposition to the region's People's Party government since the 2020 election, and led the BNG to its best-ever result in 2024.

Biography

Pontón was born in the village of Chorrente near Sarria in the Province of Lugo, and grew up in a house that her great-grandfather had built in 1904.[2] She graduated in Political Sciences from the University of Santiago de Compostela.[3]

Pontón was first elected to the Parliament of Galicia in 2004.[4] In February 2016, she received 85% of the votes to be the party's national spokesperson, the first woman in the role.[5]

In the July 2020 Galician elections, the BNG's vote share under Pontón jumped from 8.3% to 23.7%, and its seats from six to a record 19. The result made the party the second largest in Parliament after the People's Party of regional president Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and Pontón became Leader of the Opposition.[6]

The BNG had its best-ever result in the 2024 elections under Pontón's leadership, with 25 deputies and 31.5% of the vote, but did not prevent another PP majority. It was the most voted party in the largest city of Vigo, and had one of the best results of any left-leaning party in the region's history.[7]

Personal life

In January 2020, Pontón gave birth to her first daughter in Santiago de Compostela.[8]

Notes and References

  1. News: Quién es Ana Pontón, candidata por Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG) en las elecciones gallegas 2020. Who is Ana Pontón, candidate for the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) in the 2020 Galician elections . 1 March 2021 . . 8 July 2020 . Portuguese.
  2. News: Luaña . Susana . Ana Pontón se reivindica como una "rapaza de aldea" que quiere ser presidenta. Ana Pontón vindicates herself as a "girl from the village" who wants to be president. 1 March 2021 . . 26 June 2020 . Spanish.
  3. News: Gil . Iván . Del riesgo de desaparición a medirse con el PSdG: la revolución de Ana Pontón en el BNG. From the risk of disappearance to sizing up to the PSdG: Ana Pontón's revolution in the BNG. 1 March 2021 . . 7 July 2020 . Spanish.
  4. News: Carpio . José Ángel . Ana Pontón, la oportunidad de crecimiento para un nuevo BNG . Ana Pontón, the opportunity of growth for a new BNG. 1 March 2021 . . 25 June 2020 . Spanish.
  5. News: Ana Pontón, elegida nueva portavoz nacional del BNG. Ana Pontón, elected new BNG national spokesperson . 1 March 2021 . El Progreso . 28 February 2016 . Spanish.
  6. News: Luaña. Susana . El BNG logra sus mejores resultados y se coloca como líder de la oposición. The BNG achieves its greatest results and places itself as leader of the opposition. 1 March 2021 . La Voz de Galicia . 13 July 2020 . Spanish.
  7. News: Salgado . Daniel . Ana Pontón lleva al BNG a su techo histórico con 25 diputados pero queda lejos de la presidencia. Ana Pontón leads the BNG to its zenith with 25 deputies but remains far from the presidency. 3 March 2024 . elDiario.es . 18 February 2024 . Spanish.
  8. News: La portavoz nacional del BNG, Ana Pontón, da a luz a Icía, su primera hija . The national spokesperson of the BNG, Ana Pontón, gives birth to Icía, her first daughter. 1 March 2021 . 20 minutos . 21 January 2020 . Spanish.