<< | Índex | >> Blaverism and MadridOne of the myths of Blaverism is that they represent the authentic Valencianness. But this myth can be easily refuted, keeping in mind that its origins and its development have always been bound to, linked to and even promoted from Madrid. The most radical Spanish nationalism has always had a greater animosity, among all the Iberian nations, towards Catalonia. And the idea of a possible confederation between the Catalan-speaking territories within the Spanish state has pleased it even less. We have proof of this in what some copies of the magazine La Conquista del Estado (The Conquest of the State) stated in 1931. This review was directed by Ramiro Ledesma Ramos. Ernesto Giménez Caballero, Juan Aparicio and Teófilo Velasco, among others, collaborated with the editions. 23 issues were published between March and October of 1931; it was one of the first publications of the nascent Spanish fascism in the 30s of the 20th century. In its pages the ideology of the JONS (Juntas de Offensiva Nacional- Sindicalista) was formulated. We have some very illustrative quotes of what we are commenting on, which are collected in the book La Pesta Blava by Vicent Bello [València. Ed. Tres i Quatre. 1988. 331 (81-92)]. The hostility towards Catalan nationalism is very clear, especially when compared to Basque nationalism: Por muy pocas ideas que se tengan acerca de las caracerísticas regionales de nuestro país, aparece de un modo diáfano que la unidad nacional peligra tan sólo en Cataluña, donde la opinión autonómica es un separatismo solapado que espera cobardemente su hora. El pueblo vasco es de una nobleza y una lealtad notorias que convierte su pleito regional en una reclamación inofensiva e ingenua. No matter how few ideas one may have about the regional features of our country, it appears in a diaphanous way that national unity is in danger only in Catalonia, where regional opinion is a sneaky separatism that cowardly awaits its time. The Basque people are of notorious for their nobility and loyalty, which turns their regional dispute into a harmless and naive claim. Once this premise is established, the authors of this review, who were pioneers of Spanish fascism, panic about the idea that Catalan nationalism might reach some kind of understanding with its counterparts in the Valencian Country and the Balearic Islands: Ya se sabe que los separatistas introducen sus ideas en Valencia y Baleares, y pregonan que son las tres regiones las futuras integrantes de la nacionalidad catalana. ¿Se dejará arrebatar España la idea imperial, integradora, que constituye su savia misma como pueblo? It is already known that the separatists introduce their ideas in València and the Balearic Islands, and proclaim that the three regions are the future members of the Catalan nationality. Will Spain allow itself to be snatched away from the imperial, integrating idea that constitutes its very sap as a people? Lo que interesa sobre todo destacar es que los intereses separatistas de Cataluña se oponen a los intereses hispánicos, y que, bajo ningún concepto, puede España tolerar la fuga. Los separatistas catalanes sueñan con el Estado valenciano-catalano-balear y no se conformarán con menos. What is especially interesting to highlight is that the separatist interests of Catalonia are opposed to Hispanic interests, and that, can Spain can not tolerate the flight under no circumstances. Catalan separatists dream of the Valencian-Catalan-Balearic state and will not be satisfied with less than that. We have already pointed out how the Spanish secret services possibly played an important role in the origin of Blaverism in the 1970s. But the fact is that prominent personalities from Madrid participated in its birth, such as Gustavo Villapalos, ex-dean of the Complutense University of Madrid and a close friend of Juan Ferrando Badía (whom, in the first pages of his book Estudios de Ciencia Política, Juan Ferrando Badía makes a flaring dedication), of whom we have already spoken. Likewise, Gustavo Villapalos was a honorary academician of the RACV, a Blaverist institution. And speaking of this Blaverist institution, it is not superfluous to remember how the Spanish Royal Household granted the RACV the title of "royal" in 1991, which it did not have before. This clearly demonstrates a certain connivance of the Spanish Royal House and its entourage with Valencian linguistic secessionism and with Blaverism in general. Historically, prominent personalities of the "intellectuality" (of course, if they say that Catalan and Valencian are two different languages, it would be necessary to question what kind of intellectuals they are) from Madrid, such as Ricardo de la Cierva (Minister of Culture for the UCD party in 1980, coinciding with the full effervescence of the Blaverist phenomenon). This gentleman also frequently participated in acts of the Valencian linguistic secessionists and of the Blaverists in general. So for instance, in 2002 he participated in a phantasmagorical "II International Congress of the Valencian Language" which was held that year. Torcuato Luca de Tena is another one of these Madrid "intellectuals". [1]. Among other things, this man stated in the newspaper "Baleares" in 1985 that «it is false that Balearic or Valencian come from Catalan (...) The cultural manifestations of the Balearics and the Valencians are much older to those of the Catalans». Right-wing newspapers in Madrid such as "ABC" (and the aforementioned Torcuato Luca de Tena was director of this newspaper) or "La Razón" always condescended to Blaverist pretensions in every way. And, finally, individuals from that right-wing Madrid pseudo-intellectuality have recently appeared, such as Fernando Sánchez Dragó, who hypocritically self-defines himself as an "anarcho-capitalist", and who seems to be a close friend of the notorious Valencian Blaverist Juan García Sentandreu. [2]. Or also César Vidal [3]. We can say, then, that Juan García Sentandreu himself has very close links with the ultra-conservative sectors from Madrid. We have another piece of evidence in the laudatory and propagandistic treatment from the Madrid digital newspaper Minuto Digital in this interview. It should be remembered that this digital newspaper, in addition to being ultraconservative, was (approximately until 2019, when it disappeared) furiously anti-Valencianist and, therefore, anti-Valencian. It was also Juan García Sentandreu himself who presented this digital newspaper in the city of València. Likewise, as we demonstrate in the Blaverism and PSOE section, at least part of the Madrid PSOE, headed by Alfonso Guerra, has always condescended to Blaverism, with the triple intention of weakening Valencian nationalism in the Valencian Country, to divide the right, and to divert useful nationalist votes towards them. Finally, we dispose of two exceptional documents that very clearly demonstrate the connivence of the Spanish right with Valencian anti-Catalanism. They correspond to two articles from no less than the former president of the Spanish Government for the PP, José María Aznar. He wrote them in 1979 in the newspaper "La Nueva Rioja". It is quite curious that they were written that year, when we have already said that there was a maximum anti-Catalanist exaltation in the Valencian Country. Not all the content of the articles is dedicated to anti-Catalanism, but some sporadic references (which we put in bold) clearly demonstrate the collusion we are talking about. In the first article, dated 9-5-1979, he openly criticizes "pan-Catalanism", and the fact that the then-President of the Pre-Autonomic Council of the Valencian Country decided to accept the four-barred flag (with the council's coat of arms in the middle) as the official flag. And by the way, he defends the denomination of the territory that the Blaverist right-wing liked the most at that time: "Kingdom of València." At the same time, he implies that he disagrees with the "Catalanity" of the Valencian Country: !!!Vientos que destruyen
Lo peor de todo no son las cosas que pasan. Ni siquiera son las cosas que van a pasar y que ya se las ve venir como irremediables. Lo peor de todo es que las recibimos como un suceso más de nuestra costumbre. Uno de los más feos síntomas de nuestra democracia es la capacidad de resignación y de fatalismo para aguantar la humillante dictadura de los hechos. Nadie reacciona, nadie quiere caer en la trampa de tomar una medida, de cumplir un deber preciso, de buscar una solución a un problema. Esto que antecede lo escribía Jaime Campmany el pasado 28 de abril. No es para menos. Los últimos días nos han vuelto a traer nuestro correspondiente cupo de muertos y heridos en Madrid, Oñate, Durango y Barcelona. Han estallado bombas en Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla y Valencia. El día 20 una "pacífica" manifestación ecologista terminaba con barricadas, incendios y heridos. Graves incidentes ocurrían el domingo en Villalar de los Comuneros, con motivo de la celebración del día de Castilla-León. Un eminente jurista, D. Antonio Pedrol Rius pedía la revisión de las disposiciones legales sobre la legitima defensa habida cuenta del estado de inseguridad e indefensión en el que viven muchos ciudadanos. Una generalizada sensación de temor existe no sólo en las grandes capitales, sino en muchas otras poblaciones españolas. Piquetes violentos impiden el ejercicio del derecho al trabajo e imponen su ley allí donde se produce una huelga. Este es el balance de cuatro meses: 48 muertos, 130 heridos, 52 atentados, 10 bombas desactivadas, 50 explosiones, 15 ametrallamiento. Pero nadie reacciona. Aquí ya se sabe que no pasa nada. In the following article (dated 30-5-1979), he attacks "Catalan expansionism" in the Valencian Country, and protests against the official flag of the Pre-Autonomic Council of the Valencian Country: !!!Unidad y grandeza
En un acto público celebrado con ocasión de las elecciones para el Parlamento Europeo, el Presidente de la República Francesa, Valery Giscard, ha afirmado que únicamente fortaleciendo su unidad puede Francia alcanzar la grandeza. Asimismo, otra información proveniente del vecino país se hacía eco del acuerdo existente entre las principales fuerzas políticas sobre la no-potenciación de los entes y poderes regionales. Con toda intención he dejado pasar algunos días para observar si alguien comentaba con la debida profundidad las mencionadas informaciones. Vana espera. Por lo que parece, el que el Presidente de una nación que aspira, no sin fundados motivos, a convertirse en cabeza política de Europa, haga un canto a la unidad de su Patria no merece mayores comentarios. Como es lógico, puesta la atención en España, se me ocurre pensar que los cantos a nuestra unidad nacional se nos van haciendo difíciles de entonar. Bien sé que no faltará quien piense que los problemas regionales de Francia y España son muy distintos. Quizá tengan razón. Personalmente opino que tales diferencias vienen determinadas más en razón a distintos tratamientos políticos que a estos problemas se les ha dado a lo largo de la Historia, que a sustanciales razones de orden racial, lingüístico, cultural o histórica. En todo caso, lo que sí es importante subrayar, aquí y ahora, es que mientras los franceses gozan de una política regional y nacional fundamentada en la unidad, los españoles carecemos de ella. Francia sabe lo que quiere y obra en consecuencia sin vacilaciones. ¿Sabemos los españoles lo que deseamos para nuestro inmediato futuro? ¿Tenemos alguna idea sobre cuál debe ser nuestro próximo camino histórico? ¿Lo sabe alguien? Humildemente confieso mi desconcierto. In short, these short references allow us very clearly to see what we want to stress: that Valencian anti-Catalanism is seen with satisfaction, and even promoted and supported by the Spanish right in general and by Madrid's intelligentsia in particular. |