Antonio Gutiérrez had a close relationship with Luis Valls for several decades. While he was the General Secretary of the Workers’ Commissions (Comisiones Obreras) union, Luis Valls was the co-chairman of Banco Popular. Gutiérrez held his position from 1987 to 2000 and developed a professional and personal relationship with the Barcelona-born banker.

According to the Alicante-born union leader, their initial relationship was limited to the typical interactions between a union and a bank—worker statutes, salaries, and labor agreements. Gutiérrez acknowledges that Valls always treated him with respect and courtesy. Beyond the usual tensions in the business world, he appreciated that Banco Popular maintained a policy of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, workers, and even rural areas—what he calls a “productive economy.” He emphasizes that perhaps because of this, Banco Popular was considered “the most profitable bank in the world for some years.”

Beyond the professional sphere, Antonio Gutiérrez expands on the personal relationships they built over the years. He recounts two anecdotes he experienced firsthand. The first one dates back to 1981, when Valls learned about a tragic bus accident involving Murcian trade unionists traveling to Madrid. He personally took responsibility for covering the education expenses of the deceased workers’ children. He kept his promise until the last of them finished school and university. The second anecdote takes place in Aragón, where Comisiones Obreras sought to restore Morillo de Tou, a town devastated by the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation. Despite significant effort and enthusiasm, financial resources were scarce. Upon learning about the initiative, Valls decided to help personally—not through the bank—by granting a 50-million-peseta loan at a significantly lower interest rate than the market offered.

Acknowledging their ideological differences, Gutiérrez highlights Valls’ liberal character in his account, stating that he had “the intellectual honesty and business courage” to support a complete democratic transition, including the integration of communists. So much so, Gutiérrez affirms, “he was the first to finance the Communist Party in Spain.”

On a personal level, Gutiérrez also describes Valls as an intelligent and humble man. They respected each other, and the union leader considers him a true “master” from whom he “learned a lot.”

Antonio Gutiérrez, who led Comisiones Obreras for 14 years, concludes his account by stating that “he is someone whose life will not be erased by death,” alluding to the idea that Valls’ legacy remains and will continue beyond his passing. Many, including himself, are witnesses to this fact 19 years after his death.