One of my career achievements was that my colleagues elected me as the Navarra Journalists Association’s first woman president.
I was young, and in those years, men still dominated the profession.
There were difficult times because, in our city, unrest and riots were frequent, and the political tension was high. I remember having to go to the Governor’s office demanding that the police returned the photo films taken from the photo reporters’ cameras during the riots. My bosses at my newspaper didn’t like my activities, because I was defending people from the competition.
During my tenure, I made steps to change the association’s statutes to transform it into a professional college, a syndicate for professionals to defend our rights more effectively. We talked with the Parliament and had a juridical brief. But when we presented our project to the assembly, our bosses came and boycotted the reunion. They rejected the project. I finished bitter and exhausted and left the presidency.
Years later, some people disseminated a rumor among my colleagues. They said that I was responsible for killing the project, which was outrageous after all the work and enthusiasm I had put into it.
I didn’t know who had started the rumor and how to stop it. In it, there were accusations against me working for a secretive group of interests. I had always been independent and kept apart of political membership, and of course, I have nothing to do with any secret organization.
I defended myself vigorously and proved my innocence. But you know what happens with rumor, always leave a shadow of doubt in some people, and you stay helpless.