Departures of note

María Pardo Valdés was a Spanish People's Party (PP) politician who served as a councillor in the city government of Santiago de Compostela. Born in the city in 1968 and a law graduate, she entered the municipal government in 2011 when the PP regained the mayoralty, taking responsibility for key portfolios including Urbanism, Housing, Rehabilitation and the Historic City. In that role she worked to streamline the granting of licences in the historic quarter and promoted public-space improvements such as the children's playgrounds in the Plaza de Galicia and Plaza de Vigo.

Her time in office coincided with one of the darkest nights in the city's history. Following the Alvia train derailment at Angrois in July 2013, Pardo took part in coordinating the municipal response during the first hours of the tragedy that shook the whole city.

Her political career was cut short about a year later when she and six other councillors were convicted at first instance to nine years of disqualification over a decision of the governing board linked to the Pokémon corruption operation. All seven resigned. Months later, in March 2015, the Provincial Court of A Coruña overturned the sentence and acquitted them, though Pardo did not return to active politics, instead returning to her professional career. She died in 2026 at the age of 58 after a long illness.