Espectacular artículo de Nacho Martín Blanco en el digital europeo-estadounidense Politico.eu.

Nacho Martín Blanco is not only one of our most admired Bronze Sweets – he is also a quiet, elegant and merciless Catalan intellectual that opposes the destructive ideas of Catalana nationalism. La Generalitat se gasta millones de nuestros euros en «internacionalitazar el prusés», però a en Natxo només li cal el seu enginy per sortir als mitjans internacionals i tombar-lo. Don’t miss his summary of what is going on in Catalonia, published today in Politico.eu:

«Last week, the president of Catalonia delivered an apocalyptic speech in Brussels. Carles Puigdemont defended Catalonia’s right to self-determination on the basis that Catalans have “a long collective history and a distinctive culture” and clings to cultural nationalism as a way to justify the secessionist stance of the Catalan government. In doing so, he forgets that, during this long collective history, Catalonia has never once been an independent political nation or a state in modern terms.

Catalonia was a part of the Crown of Aragon, before joining the Hispanic Monarchy after the union of the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile in 1469. The Catalan people have since played an integral role in the Spanish identity and the major events of the country’s modern history, such as the signing of the constitution of 1812 that established the sovereignty of the Spanish nation, where Catalan representatives enthusiastically supported the enactment of the constitution in the Courts of Cadiz.

Catalonia is not a declining influence in Spanish politics — far from it. Two of Spain’s seven founding fathers, responsible for the country’s current constitution, are of Catalan origin. This constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation. Its ratification in 1978 was the result of a broad consensus across diverse parties, including the Catalan nationalists of Puigdemont’s party, and received support from over 90 percent of the Catalan voters in a referendum.

The cultural basis on which Puigdemont portends to support the Catalan government’s secessionist project is entirely without merit. Catalans and the rest of the Spanish people share a long collective history, including a language, Castilian — known broadly as Spanish — which is as Catalan as the Catalan language itself, considering it has been spoken in Catalonia since the 15th century. It would be senseless to break this shared history on the whim induced by Catalan nationalist parties’ propaganda.

According to Puigdemont, the Spanish government “says no to the linguistic question, no to questions about taxes … No democracy. No vote. It’s very difficult to speak with the Spanish government.” This is an accurate reflection of the victimized propaganda the nationalists have been spreading for more than three decades. But this runs contrary to the Catalan government’s already considerable autonomy — Catalonia is currently one of the most autonomous territories in the world.

Catalonians, as well as the rest of Spanish people, vote in local, regional, general and European elections. However, just as Bavarians, Corsicans or Venetians do not enjoy the rights of self-determination — mainly because none of these regions meet the requirements fixed by the U.N. — neither do Catalonians. Puigdemont claims the Spanish government “says no to the linguistic issue,” when his own government is the only regional government in the world to deny the majority of its population the right to be educated in their mother tongue.

Catalonia’s exclusion of the Spanish language is unparalleled. But Puigdemont, of course, did not mention this on his visit to Brussels. Likewise, he avoided admitting that there is no voter majority in Catalonia in favor of secession. Neither did he mention that the exiguous parliamentary majority supporting his government hinges on an anti-capitalist party that supports Catalonia’s exit from the European Union.

The secessionists’ aspiration to undermine our constitutional pact of 1978 will deprive the Spanish people of our national sovereignty — a fateful mistake.

We should not forget that there is no democratic state in the world that gives its constituent regions the right to self-determination. The indissoluble unity written into the Spanish constitution is also a part of the Italian, French, German and U.S. constitutions. The fact that our constitution does not contain intangibility clauses means that it can be changed — but we must guard against using this adaptability to undermine its main purpose: the peaceful coexistence of the Spanish people».

Let’s  hope that the Fanatic President Carles Puigdemont does not succeed in destroying our social life together.

Sweet and misled Catalonia…

Categories: Huid del nacionalismo, Pensando bien

Tags: Carles Puigdemont, catalan nationalism, Dolça Catalunya, dolcacatalunya, Nacionalismo catalán, Politico.eu