Carlos Pollán

Carlo Pollán Fernández (born 1966)[1] is a Spanish politician of the Vox party. He was formerly a player, coach and president of the CB Ademar León handball club. Elected to the Cortes of Castile and León in the 2022 election, he became the President of the Cortes. In the next election four years later, he led the party to third place and its highest percentage in any regional election.

Early life and career

Born in León, Pollán is the son of a miner.[2] He graduated in law and became an employment advisor, while being part of the CB Ademar León handball club from 1986 to 2013. He played as a goalkeeper for eight years and coached its youth teams before becoming club president in 2009.[1][3] His presidency ended in bankruptcy over a €500,000 debt, with the club going through insolvency proceedings.[4][5][6]

Pollán has two children and is separated from their mother.[7]

Political career

In 2019, Pollán ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Sariegos in the local elections, and in fifth on Vox's list for the Cortes of Castile and León in the regional election. In the same year, he became the fourth person in the same year to lead Vox in the Province of León, amidst a crisis over the party not entering the Provincial Deputation.[8]

Pollán led Vox's list in León for the 2022 Castilian-Leonese regional election.[9] On 10 March, the People's Party of regional president Alfonso Fernández Mañueco formed a government with Vox, the first regional government to include the party. Pollán became President of the Cortes, the speaker.[10]

Pollán openly opposes Spain's division into autonomous communities, believing that this has turned a centralised state into 17 centralised states and has disadvantaged peripheral provinces such as his native León.[7]

On 9 February 2026, Pollán was confirmed as Vox's lead candidate in the next month's regional election. El Confidencial noted his loyalty to party leader Santiago Abascal and his low media profile, both of which contrasted with predecessor Juan García-Gallardo.[11] Polling before the election suggested that only 35% of regional voters knew who he was, rising to 60% for supporters of his party.[12] He led the party to another third place in the election, growing by one seat up to 14 deputies, and achieving a best-ever percentage of just under 19%.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b Estaire Cabañas, Óscar (10 March 2022). "Carlos Pollán, de las canchas de balonmano a presidir las Cortes de Castilla y León" [Carlos Pollán, from the handball courts to presiding over the Cortes of Castile and León]. El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  2. ^ Corbillón, Antonio (10 March 2022). "Carlos Pollán, un hijo de minero hecho a sí mismo y acostumbrado a los balonazos" [Carlos Pollán, a self-made miner's son accustomed to heavy shots]. El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Carlos Pollán, nuevo presidente de Ademar" [Carlos Pollán, new president of Ademar]. Marca (in Spanish). 2 July 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Una deuda de 900.000 euros conduce al Ademar al concurso de acreedores" [900,000 euro debt leads Ademar into insolvency proceedings]. El Mundo (in Spanish). EFE. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  5. ^ "El Ademar pide concurso de acreedores" [Ademar requests insolvency proceedings]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). EFE. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  6. ^ "El Ademar de León presenta concurso de acreedores" [Ademar de León enters insolvency proceedings] (in Spanish). Cadena COPE. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  7. ^ a b Calvo, J. (10 March 2022). "Pollán: el buen portero al que no le gustan las comunidades autónomas" [Pollán: the good goalkeeper who doesn't like autonomous communities] (in Spanish). Leo Noticias. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Carlos Pollán, el dirigente de Vox que presidirá las Cortes de Castilla y León, quebró el club de balonmano Ademar" [Carlos Pollán, the Vox leader who will preside over the Cortes of Castile and León, bankrupted the Ademar handball club]. ElDiario.es (in Spanish). 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Carlos Pollán encabeza la lista leonesa de VOX a las elecciones del 13-F" [Carlos Pollán leads VOX's list in León for the elections of 13 Feb.] (in Spanish). Leo Noticias. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Vox speaker in Spain's Castilla y Leon regional parliament". Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata. 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  11. ^ Negrete, Borja (10 February 2026). "¿Quién es Carlos Pollán? Abascal promociona a otro de sus fieles en Castilla y León tras el subidón de Aragón" [Who is Carlos Pollán? Abascal promotes another of his faithful in Castile and León after the surge in Aragon]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  12. ^ Munárriz, Ángel; Clemente, Yolanda (9 March 2026). "Vox supera el 20% en Castilla y León mientras el PP de Mañueco se estanca" [Vox surpasses 20% in Castile and León while Mañueco's PP stagnates]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  13. ^ Santos, Elena (15 March 2026). "Vox logra su mejor porcentaje de voto, aunque no llega a su ansiado 20%: roza el 19% en Castilla y León y consigue 14 procuradores" [Vox achieves its best vote percentage, though it does not reach the expected 20%: it touches 19$ in Castile and León and achieves 14 deputies]. HuffPost (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 March 2026.