Rita Barberá
Rita Barberá
Mayoress of Valencia
In office
5 July 1991 – 13 June 2015
Preceded byClementina Ródenas
Succeeded byJoan Ribó
Spanish Senator
for designation of the Corts Valencianes
In office
23 July 2015 – 23 November 2016
Personal details
Born(1948-07-16)16 July 1948
Valencia, Spain
Died23 November 2016(2016-11-23) (aged 68)
Madrid, Spain
Political partyPeople's Party
(1976–2016); suspended
OccupationPolitician


María Rita Barberá Nolla (Valencia, 16 July 1948 - Madrid, 23 November 2016)[1] was a spanish politician, major of Valencia during 24 years, between 1991 and 2015; deputy for Valencia in the valencian regional Parliament (Cortes Valencianas) between 1983 and 2015 and senator by autonomous appointment from 2015 until her death. She was a member of People's Alliance (Spain) (AP) and her successor, the Partido Popular (PP) for forty years, between 1976 and 2016, when she was suspended.[2]


The «Rita Leaks» Case

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In April 2015, the Compromís Coalition created a website called "Rita Leaks", announced on April 22 [3], with the aim of wearing down politically Rita Barberá,[4] then candidate for mayor of Valencia, taking advantage of the media loudspeaker that involves the opening of a procedure by the Public Prosecutor's Office.[4]. The website was presented at the headquarters of the Coalition by Joan Ribó and Mónica Oltra, who said that "this person has no limit, is out of control and is insatiable" and that "we do not know if there has been spending on the bar furniture or the spa. She live like a king at everyone's expense. She does not know how to distinguish between his money and the money of others".[4] Finally, 466 documents were published in which alleged irregularities were collected from 34 people linked to bodies of the Valencian consistory that had between 2011 and 2014 some expenses, paid with public money, up to 278 000 euros, money spent on travel, meals and various acts of representation, of which 42 781 € were due to 88 invoices that were in the name of Rita Barberá,[5][6] although among them were several that actually belonged to leaders of the PSPV-PSOE, such as former minister Carmen Alborch.[7][8]. Compromís also announced that they would submit all documentation to the prosecutor's office to find out if they are grounds for crime.[9] This fact had a great impact on the media,[10][11][12][13][14] so the mayor gave a press conference in which he justified the high costs because "did not want "cutrerías" in Valencia. [15] Regarding the Compromís website and the media repercussion, Barberá said that everything was due to a "contract between Compromís and laSexta", [15][16][17] to which the television channel replied that they had not signed anything with Compromís and also challenged, in an ironic tone, that a "SextaLeaks" be made [18].


After the preliminary investigation carried out in Valencia, [19] on May 18, 2016, the Public Prosecutor's Office of Valencia transferred to the Supreme Court (as it is the competent court) all the investigation into Rita Barberá's expenses as mayor during her last term as mayor of Valencia, which was a further step in the proceedings opened by the Economic Crimes section of Valencia.[20]. However, on July 12, 2016, the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court closed the case as it saw no crime in the protocol expenses denounced by Compromís. [4][8]

  1. ^ Durán, Luis; Negre, Javier. "El hígado mató a Rita Barberá". Madrid. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  2. ^ Junquera, Natalia (15 September 2016). "Rita Barberá se da de baja en el PP pero se aferra al escaño en el Senado". El País. PRISA. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  3. ^ Coalició Compromís per València (2015). "RitaLeaks". www.ritaleaks.compromis.net. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d J. MOLANO (13 July 2016). "El Supremo desmonta la campaña de Compromís contra los gastos de Barberá". Las Provincias. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  5. ^ ANDRÉS DURÀ, RAQUEL (22 April 2015). "Compromís filtrará 466 documentos de Rita Barberá en 'RitaLeaks'". www.lavanguardia.com. La Vanguardia Ediciones S.L. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  6. ^ Redacción (22 April 2015). "Compromís anuncia que desvelará 466 facturas de gastos de Rita Barberá con 'Rita Leaks'". www.eldiario.es. El Diario de Prensa Digital S.L. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference endosó was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b EFE/ABC (12 July 2016). "La Fiscalía del Supremo rechaza investigar a Barberá por el caso «Ritaleaks»". ABC. Retrieved julio de 2016. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ TOLEDO, C. (23 April 2015). "Compromís lleva a la Fiscalía los gastos de Rita Barberá". www.elmundo.es. Unidad Editorial Información General S.L.U. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  10. ^ CHAPARRO, NACHO (23 April 2015). "El caso "Ritaleaks" y el gran timo de la dignidad institucional". www.eleconomista.es. Ecoprensa S.A. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  11. ^ Redacción (22 April 2015). "El ´RitaLeaks´ de Barberá: 278.000 euros en comidas, hoteles y viajes". www.levante-emv.com. Grupo Editorial Prensa Ibérica. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  12. ^ Redacción (23 April 2015). "Ritaleaks: La filtración masiva de facturas revela la falta de transparencia en Valencia". www.elconfidencial.com. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  13. ^ SÁIZ-PARDO, MELCHOR (23 April 2015). "Las facturas de Barberá dibujan cinco años de dispendios de dinero público". www.larioja.com. VOCENTO. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  14. ^ SÁIZ-PARDO, MELCHOR (23 April 2015). "Rita Barberá gastó más de 60.000 euros en hoteles para sus escoltas durante las vacaciones". www.lavozdegalicia.es. LA VOZ DE GALICIA S.A. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  15. ^ a b Redacción (23 April 2015). "Rita Barberá justifica sus elevados gastos porque no quiere "cutrerías" en Valencia". www.lasexta.com. ATRESMEDIA. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  16. ^ Redacción (23 April 2015). "Rita Barberá ataca a laSexta por destapar sus cuantiosas facturas de dinero público". www.vertele.com. PORTAL VERTELE, S.L. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  17. ^ "Barberá dice que las facturas están fiscalizadas y verá si publicarlas vulnera la protección de datos". www.20minutos.es. Schibsted Group. Europa Press. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  18. ^ Redacción (23 April 2015). "laSexta responde a Rita Barberá: "No firmamos nada con Compromís, le retamos a que haga un 'SextaLeaks'"". www.lasexta.com. ATRESMEDIA. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  19. ^ Nieto, Juan (13 May 2016). "La Fiscalía cita a la hermana de Rita Barberá por el 'caso Ritaleaks'". www.elmundo.es. UNEDISA. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  20. ^ A.G.R. (18 May 2016). "El caso Ritaleaks, en manos de la Fiscalía del Supremo". www.lasprovincias.es. vocento. Retrieved 29 May 2016.