the lawyer Joan Casadevall died this Friday victim of cancer. Throughout his career, Casadevall stood out, apart from his professional activity as a legal advisor closely linked to the labor field, for his work representing the Union of Construction Entrepreneurs. He was also an advisor to the Guild of Installers of the province of Girona, negotiator of the Trade Agreement and administrator of the Labor Prevention Guild. This association with the company led him to the Girona Chamber of Commerce. In fact, he was one of the most senior members of the executive committee of the business corporation.
Gifted with a great oratorical ability, he mastered the art of irony like no one else and never shied away from an intelligent debate, especially with those who opposed him. Some trade union representatives and more than one full member of the Chamber of Commerce can attest to it. However, he was always one of those who believed that the best way to resolve conflicts was through negotiation and agreement.
“He represented the most liberal soul of the Girona business community”, recalled a manager of the construction sector yesterday. “Some of his public statements generated controversy, such as when he complained about the excess of restrictions during the pandemic, but they were always very well argued”, he added.
Together with the hotelier Jordi Comas, Joan Terrades (Chamber of Property) and Francesc Sitjas (UEC) he actively participated in the creation of the “Club Liberal de Girona” in the mid-80s of the last century, promoting several cycles of conferences in Girona and Platja d’Aro.
In the publication ‘Testimonios para la Historia’, Casadevall defined himself as a “counselor rather than a lawyer”, asserted that there was not enough talk of the “relevance of businessmen in the proper functioning of our society” and lamented the “inefficiency » from politicians to face bold measures in the face of problems such as low productivity and the rigidity of the labor market. In the same publication, he stated that today’s society had “lost the classic values of courage and struggle” and argued that Western states should reduce tax collection to give the initiative to citizens.
He affirmed that the Catalonia-Spain relationship had gone “from the illusion of transition and the construction of a modern democracy to disappointment”. “Today nothing motivates us to belong to Spain. The new generations of Catalans, born in freedom, must set their sights on the common European project and make our country one more part of an effective European Union of States: this it is the horizon that must be able to get us excited again,” he pointed out.