“When you go to sea, the last thing you care about is the election.”

At a table at Taperia o Pelao on Rua do Sol 29 Cangas de Morazo Four friends meet with Ribeiro wine as anchor. They spent a lot of time at sea, each on his own: half his life, more or less. Here they come together almost Every day of every week. Several bowls of beans and choco arrive at their stations. The photographs covering the walls of the establishment, mostly, tell of thousands of feats at sea. They know them all. manuel angel sotelo villas, 58 years old. Sample. 40 tide in the worst possible fishing grounds: great sun, Angel Javier Fernandez Agulla63 years old and 36 years old, knows the five oceans of the planet; manuel villar, 60 years old, chief engineer for 39 of them; And manuel ferrari64 years and 40 years of expeditions of several months from the Indian Ocean to the South AfricaOf mauritania To Falkland, He has retired (his work arrangement allows him to do so at 56 years and four months), but Manuel Angel Sotelo, the great Lolo, will set out again as the summer heats up: “Only for the summer expedition,” he says. “Cangas is very crowded in the months of July and August, I don’t like it. So I’ll probably go back to the bridge of New Conferco For a stroll around Gran Sol. You don’t see anyone there. It is difficult to adapt to ground protocols.

These people voted when they could, and most of the time they rarely did so. He was working at sea on election Sundays, etc. for so many years. In the Galician region of O Morazo live some retired sailors who traveled in fierce oceans, endured many months of imprisonment (which is what sailing is by trade), resisted the necessary odds, experienced the indignities of fierce storms. They remained oblivious to the uncertainties of the mainland. They worked on high-altitude fishing boats where expeditions last from two and a half to 10 months. At that time very little land was visible. They are the solution to survival in a small living space. Monday is never any different from Thursday. Not even on Tuesday or Sunday. During the working months he stopped going to weddings, funerals, children’s birthdays and carnivals. “They say the mine is hard, but the miner sleeps at home,” he concluded. Lolo,

These people have established a life amidst such waters where almost no one wants to go. His profession is one of the most notorious in this part of the world. For many weeks one had to endure the harshness of the sea, its bad mood, its danger, endless working days to bring the fish to the port and deliver the daily wages home. Salaries are continuously decreasing. A little thinner every year.

Galicia By the 70s of the last century, it had gathered a powerful fleet of boats that launched nets into the Gran Sol, a painfully liquid area between the two. North Atlantic parallels 48 and 60Fishing grounds for sole, monkfish, cockroach, crayfish. He gave him a strong motto: spanish armada, In its glory days there were about 300 ships. According to statistics, there are now just over 70 with base ports in Galicia. Department of Junta SagarIn which there are a total of 63 fishermen associations.

Everything has gone wrong in the profession. Nevertheless, 18% of the active Galician population makes a living from fishing and the surrounding areas. And about a third are employed in high-growth, strategic sectors in the broader economy. Too high? Extractive fishing mainly in freezer tuna vessels, trawlers, pinchierosSurface longliners, Greenland halibut ships… and they work scattered in the water Argentina, Chile, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mozambique, Uruguay, Guinea one of two mauritania,

Galician high-altitude sailors accumulate legends in the most sought-after fishing grounds. The men boarded the ship at the age of 16, 17 or 18, plagued by tides, fatigue, sleeplessness, loneliness, and shipwreck. If you ask him about them, he raises his shoulders a little and lets them fall with a little hesitation. There is a discouraging reality in their lives: they know they are the invisible people of the sea. Even invisible without any extra ado. He is not on the political radar. And if they are, it shouldn’t be better supported either. They consider the foolish gestures of politicians in the campaign, the breaking of their promises, the ceremonial acts of collecting garbage thrown on beaches in front of cameras, a joke.

This Sunday the Galician elections arouse a different indifference in them. Promise worship has, for the most part, been out of their lives. “When you go to sea,” he says Lolo, “Elections matter the least to you. I voted once as a single man when I lived there aldan, Then, in Kangas, four or five. He was almost always there! That “there” is its geographical reference: Gran Sol. “The sailor who uses the requested vote or mail is rare. At sea, choices do not matter, but what does matter is codend, catch fish, catch fish and get the job done as quickly as possible to return to land. , If they ask us…», he slips.

Alcohol works with pleasure within these people. Its raining outside. The sea is 150 meters away. Some people still enjoy going near an octopus for fun, others prefer not to go close to it again. Javier Fernandez chimed in: “Look, the profession has made progress in some things: some more acceptable conditions, prepared boats, some regulatory tools in the best cases, which should be mandatory, although this is not always followed. ..But there are also issues in which we are performing poorly: low wages, endless working hours, recognition…”, he detailed. “The politicians don’t care about us.” We sailors forget easily. Farmers, who are in rural areas, have performed well. Therefore they will be considered. We did a general strike in 1995, Algeciras O to Morazo, and there we made some progress. But since then, everything has gotten a little worse year by year.

– What do you ask the parties? (Javier Fernandez takes off with the dog Lana at his feet).

– If they would take care of us, which they will not, I would ask them to control the price of fish forever, so that they do not rob the sailors. You bring in a good ton and when you get here after risking your life for months, the middlemen reduce the price and the fishing companies can pay you five euros for a 14 kg bin of fresh product . Then they pick it up in one go and when it reaches the restaurant they make more than us in one go.

-And who wins?

-Many people whose feet have not got wet. The non-refundable assistance is meant for shipowners, but we seafarers are stranded. This agreement was made 30 years ago and has not been reviewed again.

They suddenly show signs of survival on their faces. Javier Fernandez has had half his body stitched back together. Lolo He has lost family and friends in Gran Sol. Ferrari missed a lot of simple things. Villar speaks little, but his vast silence is more protest than indifference. Salary related uncertainty has also added to this for the last few years. Discount The historical quinone, an economic supplement, was thus agreed by which a portion of the catch compensated the sailors. “It was an aid of at least 700 euros.” This is more or less the per capita price of fish distributed among the crew. It’s always been done this way. And this helped to complete the month better. Now the treasury says it generates additional black money; and health, which is not guaranteed for human consumption. So between them, the sailor also loses the survival supplement. “all this rubbish.”

He remembers the time between the first and second bottle of Ribeiro, but it is difficult for him to name the Galician politician who has spent more than half an hour on a boat at altitude. If it was there it was only for photos while it was tied up in the harbor. Manuel Villar, the chief engineer, is the extreme part of the crew: he never voted. “Why, if they do what they want,” he says. Manuel Ferrari breaks the record for election Sundays: 10. ”How would a politician waste time spending a few days on a tall ship, not knowing what it is. Now I’m not saying they know Gran Sol (very important for the Galician economy), but they have never been at work for a day… Of course, then they think they know Refer to our work to see what they are talking about. It is shameful to hear him on television. And the role of unions is not much different. They talk and talk about occupational risks, but they are well aware that many boats lack the necessary equipment. Lolo And Fernandez shares the diatribe and the final vine. Ferrari comes into play: «I don’t know a single politician capable of telling the truth. That’s why people are becoming increasingly disappointed.” “Look what I want to tell you”, the former boss intervenes, “The PP has been in the government of Galicia, no one knows. Why? I’m telling you: to destroy public health. “Social security is on the ground. “

Of them, only Lolo His vote is clear: “For the first time I will vote for him for BNG.” Because “It is clear: It seems to me that they are the only ones who think about the general interest of this land.” and perhaps one of those who can do most for the general benefit. Today the voting for PSOE or PP is almost the same. We have to bet big in these Galician elections. Fernandez gives a delicate command to the dog Lana and says goodbye with a question: “The truth is, I don’t know if I’m going to vote or not.” Ferrari finds the keys to the motorcycle: “I, yes,” he reports. Villar continues to observe the sea people with that curtain of water in their eyes and makes the sweet and minimal movement of shaking his head. Lolo He begins to walk towards the port of Cangas: “As for the BNG, I already said it.” Tomorrow they will return to Teparia o Pelao and it will be the same, although different. As it happens with the sea.