Paco González Díaz

Paco González Díaz (Seville, 1939) is a Catalan trade unionist and neighbourhood association leader. After living in Andalusia and Extremadura, he moved to Barcelona in 1958 and went to live in the Carmel neighbourhood. He lived in a shack on Turó de la Rovira for twenty years and was one of the leading figures in movements struggling to achieve a better standard of living in the neighbourhood, including the community project of local residents who built the cement steps leading up to the top of the hill and the creation of an adult education centre in one of the shacks. These residents’ claims, which led to their being re-housed in the so-called “Cases Verdes” (Green Houses), brought new services to the neighbourhood (water, electricity, asphalted roads and public transport) as well as a health centre. Paco González worked in the Pegaso factory, where he was the union representative for health and safety. In 1999 he was elected president of the “Local Raimon Caselles” in the Cases Verdes, and in 2005 he was awarded the Barcelona Medal of Honour.