He had been chosen to be director-general of the government of Aragon's digital administration, and his long professional background in IT and cybersecurity showed he had the profile for the job. But just 24 hours after being appointed, technology expert Bruno Pérez, of the Catalan city of Figueres, was summarily dismissed by his new public employers on the grounds of "loss of confidence", after a politician from the Ciudadanos party had shared a photo showing his participation in a Catalan independence-related event in 2013. Now, Pérez says not only has his great enthusiasm for this new challenge been crushed but he also directly accuses the Aragonese president Javier Lambán of "catalanophobia."
Pérez told Catalunya Radio that he was "in a state of shock" and explained that he felt he was a victim of political persecution. "I was sacked for a photo, for a possible ideology", he said. "In a democratic country, I shouldn't have to explain what I am thinking, I shouldn't be required to justify my political views, whatever the job is." He was surprised to have been attacked for images posted on social media related to an activity he organized six years ago - a large-scale lighting installation using candles to form a pro-independence estelada flag. In the decision to sack him, Pérez did not hesitate to directly accuse the Aragonese president, Javier Lambán of the Socialist party: a "person who has declared himself a catalanophobe from the very beginning, and has made political capital out of it."
He explained to the Catalan radio station that previously he had had no professional relationship with the government of Aragon, and for that reason he believed he was sought out purely because of his technical profile for the role. He spoke of the enthusiasm he had had for the new digital project in Aragon which was planned so that it would "help all Aragoneses" and thanked the people of the Podemos party in the region who had supported him.