Ripoll mayor's 19-year-old daughter lands job as local police officer

Ripoll mayor hires her daughter as a local police officer: nepotism or merit?

Can you become a police officer at 19, fresh out of high school, and earn €2,500 a month? In Ripoll (Girona), Spain, you can — if your mother is the mayor. Sílvia Orriols, leader of Aliança Catalana and mayor of the town since 2023, has hired her daughter Guinadell as an officer with the municipal police. The story, first reported by several digital outlets, has sparked a political and social storm.

The facts behind the "favor"

According to official documents, Orriols's 19-year-old daughter won a local police position through a public competition in which the written tests were anonymous (candidates were identified by national ID number, not by name). The gross monthly salary is around €2,500, roughly double the average wage of a young worker in Spain. The mayor's defense rests on two arguments: that the process was transparent, and that if she had really wanted to hand her daughter a cushy job, she would have placed her in an office, not on the street. She also claims she nearly asked her daughter not to apply, to avoid suspicion.

Political noise and lingering doubts

The scandal comes at a delicate moment for Orriols, who built her political career on fighting corruption and the Catalan "establishment." Critics inside and outside her party point out that, regardless of whether the process was legal, the move is a huge political blunder. "If she had wanted to avoid suspicion, she would not have let her daughter apply," several analysts conclude. Others note that nepotism in local government is endemic in Spain and that cases like this are just the tip of the iceberg.

The daughter, moreover, will have to deal with complex situations in a town like Ripoll, marked by social tensions and a tough municipal stance against irregular immigration. "Poor officer when she has to break up a fight," some quip. For now, the mayor stands by her version of events: her daughter passed the civil service exam like any other candidate. But the shadow of the family connection weighs more than any exam score.