Blaverism

Blaverism (Valencian: "blaverisme". Spanish: "blaverismo") is a political movement in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is characterised by its opposition to Catalan nationalism, seen as an imperialist movement that tries to impose the Catalan language and culture. In particular, it is nuclear to blaverism a complete rejection of the idea of "Països Catalans".

Blaverism takes its name from the blue (Valencian "blava") fringe which distinguishes the Valencian flag from other flags with a common origin, particularly from the Catalan.

The term "blaverism" can have a negative connotation, and is associated by Valencian leftists and nationalists with the extreme right [Rodríguez-Castelló, Manuel." [http://www.levante-emv.com/secciones/noticia.jsp?pNumEjemplar=2978&pIdSeccion=18&pIdNoticia=152073 El pot de conserva.] " "Levante". 2005-11-19.] [" [http://www.kaosenlared.net/noticia.php?id_noticia=27232 La extrema derecha del Pais Valenciano] " Indymedia Valencia. 2006-11-28.] Bello, Vicent (1988). "La pesta blava." València: Tres i Quatre.] or, simply, with ignorance. The name is revindicated by certain proponents of blaverism to distinguish themselves from other branches of Valencianism, [E.g., [http://www.naciovalenciana.com/ Nació Valenciana] .] while other proponents of these ideas prefer to identify themselves as Valencianists as opposed to Catalanists. [E.g., [http://www.gav-valencianistes.com/ Grupo de Acció Valencianista] .]

In its origins in the second half of the twentieth century, blaverism was a popularist and heterogeneous movement, which grouped together regionalists and supporters of Valencian foral civil law. Support for blaverism has been strongest in the city of Valencia and in the areas immediately surrounding it.

Development of blaverism

Reaction against Fuster

Blaverism is usually seen as a reaction against the ideas expressed by Joan Fuster in his 1962 essay "Nosaltres els valencians" ("We the Valencians"), which was very influential among Catalan nationalists during the 1960s and early 1970s. Fuster's thesis was that the Valencians and the Catalans form part of the same nationality. In his words,::"No és que la bandera valenciana siga igual que la catalana. És la mateixa. Igual que amb la llengua i tantes altres coses."::"It isn't that the Valencian flag "should be" the same as the Catalan. It "is" the same. Same as with the language, and so many other things."Blaverism not only rejects the thesis of a common nationality (flag, language, culture, etc.) but also promotes symbols of a distinct Valencian nationality: it this sense it can be described as a nationalist movement, although many of its early proponents were, in fact, latter-Francoists.

The democratic transition

Some observers warned as early as in 1976 that the transition to democracy, and particularly the economic problems of the time, could radicalize the conservative positions of a part of the right. [Lluch, Ernest (1976). "La via valenciana." València: Tres i Quatre.] The first public attacks against a perceived pancatalanism of the left-wing parties occurred in the run up to the first democratic elections, in June 1977, [Giner Boira, Vicente. "El día 16 dejarás de ser valenciano, serás catalán." "Las Provincias", 1977-06-12.] and there were a number of violent attacks on left-wing activists and bookshops from this time on.

In terms of democratic politics, the party which most closely espoused the blaverist cause was the centre-right Unión de Centro Democrático (UCD), which was in power nationally (under Adolfo Suárez) but which trailed the socialists in Valencia and Alicante. The first speech attacking pancatalanism came in December 1977 from Emilio Attard, its leader in the province of Valencia. Manuel Broseta, another leading member of the UCD, published an influential essay "Paella and the Catalan Countries" a few months later, the first in a substantial series of anticatalanist articles to appear in the newspaper "Las Provincias". [Broseta, Manuel (1979) "Som valencians. Selección de colaboraciones periodísticas publicadas desde 1974 hasta 1979 en el periódico "Las Provincias" de Valencia." València: Las Provincias.] The UCD would defend, with some success, a staunchly valencianist position throughout the negotiations leading up to the first Statute of Autonomy.

Valencian autonomy

The "Consell del País Valencià" was established by Royal Decree on 1978-03-17 and held its first meeting at the Monastery of El Puig on 10 April. All four main parties—the UCD, the postfranquists of the Alianza Popular, the socialists of the PSOE and the communists (PCE)—were represented, and all signed a call for Valencian autonomy on 8 October, the eve of the Valencian national day. [The 9 October is celebrated in the Valencian Community in commemoration of the entry of James I of Aragon into the city of Valencia on 1238-10-09, immediately after the Reconquista.] After the approval of the Spanish Constitution in December 1978, the "Consell" approved the first draft of a Statute of Autonomy at its meeting in Morella on 1979-01-09: this draft has become known as the "Statute of Morella".

The political climate degraded significantly after the elections of March and April 1979—with some hyperbole, the period has become known as the "Battle of Valencia". The elections gave the left another majority in the parliamentary deputation (PCE, 3; PSOE, 19; UCD, 19) but gave the UCD the majority of seats on the "Consell del País Valencià" (PCE, 1; PSOE, 7; UCD, 10), which were attributed under a different voting system. It was initially agreed that socialist Josep-Lluís Albinyana should rest as President of the "Consell" but the tensions between left and right were such that Albinyana was ousted after a vote of censure on 1979-12-22. The UCD accused Albinyana of using his position as President of the "Consell" to bounce through a Statute of Autonomy without consensus, while the socialists accused the UCD of wanting to reopen the consensus reached at Morella. There were elements of truth in both positions, and the close balance of electoral strength made the arguments particularly virulent.

As a result of the tensions in regional politics and of a certain number of developments at the national level, the Statute of Autonomy remained deadlocked throughout 1980, despite petitions in favour of Valencian autonomy from 529 of the 542 municipalities. The Valencian parliamentarians took the matter in hand after the failed military coup of 1981-02-23 (during which the city of Valencia suffered several hours of military occupation), producing a compromise draft Statute known as the "Statute of Benicàssim". It is this draft, along with a set of amendments proposed by the UCD and the communists, which was submitted for approval to the Cortes Generales in Madrid.

The Statute of Benicàssim was modified in favour of blaverist held positions by the Constitutional Committee of the Congress of Deputies, where the UCD held a majority. [Ruiz Monrabal (2003) gives a long discussion of the debates in the Constitutional Committee on 1981-12-29, debates in which heparticipated as a UCD Deputy for Valencia.] However Article 1 of the modified text, which named the autonomous community as the "Kingdom of Valencia", was rejected by the full Chamber (for, 151; against, 161; absentions, 9) on 1982-03-09 and the text returned to the Constitutional Committee. A final compromise resulted in the name "Valencian Community": the Statute of Autonomy entered into force on 1982-07-01.

Blaverist positions

Blaverism's characteristic feature is its opposition to Catalan nationalism (named as "pancatalanism"), whether real, perceived or, according to their opponents, simply made up. The positions associated with blaverism have varied somewhat since the return to democracy, depending on the direction of the supposed "threat". Some blaverist positions have become mainstream (e.g., the flag), some have lost their association with blaverism (e.g., role of the autonomous institutions) while some have become more associated with blaverism, and more hotly debated (e.g., the Valencian language).

Flag of the autonomous community

The question of which flag should be used to represent the Valencian Community is at the origin of the name "blaverism", which is derived from the Valencian "blava", meaning "blue". The origin of the dispute can be traced to Fuster's "Nosaltres els valencians", where he claims that Valencians and Catalans have always shared the same flag (the "Senyera") and that Valencian groups who had used different flags in the years before Franco "knew not what they did" ("no sabien el que es feien", p. 26). The "Senyera" in its simplest form—sometimes referred to as the "quatribarrada"—gained a certain (but not overwhelming) support in valencianist circles, and was on view at the march in favour of autonomy of 1977-10-09.

The Statute of Morella proposed that the flag of the autonomous community be the "Senyera" with the royal coat of arms at the centre (those of Peter III of Aragon (1336–87), who did much to formalize the autonomy of the Kingdom of Valencia within the Crown of Aragon). This was adopted as the flag of the "Consell del País Valencià" on 1979-04-24: however the decision was seen as a provocation by the UCD, [Ruiz Monrabal (2003, p. 397)] coming as it did after elections which would have given the centre-right a majority on the "Consell" but before the new "Consell" could be constituted.

The more extremest blaverist groups seized the opportunity provided by the tense political climate: the flags of the Valencia Town Hall were burnt by demonstrators on 1979-10-09, [While it is sometimes said that on the flag of the "Consell" was burnt (by a small incendiary device catapulted from the street), Ruiz Monrabal (2003, p. 397) insists that the flags of Spain and of the city of Valencia burned as well.] far from the only act of political violence that year.

The socialist representative left the "Consell" on 1979-12-22 and the choice of flag was reversed on 1980-01-14. The blaverists continued to insist that the flag of the new autonomous community be recognisably different from that of any other, and particularly that of Catalonia (the "Senyera" in its simplest form). The Statute of Benicàssim proposed a new design, but the UCD representative on the Constitutional Committee of the Congress of Deputies managed to impose an amendment making the flag of the autonomous community the same as that of the city of Valencia (for, 17; against, 16; abstention, 1) which includes the blue fringe (the "Senyera Coronada").

Since the adoption of the first Statute of Autonomy, the issue has lost much of its controversy. The use of the "Senyera coronada" has a wide acceptance within the Valencian Community, although some small groups on the left of the political spectrum (e.g. Els Verds, ERPV) continue to refer to it as the "blavera" and the "Senyera quatribarrada" can be seen from time to time, particularly in the districts furthest from the capital.

Name of the autonomous community

The question of the name of the autonomous community was initially seen as fairly minor compared to the debates over the flag and the powers which would be granted to the Generalitat Valenciana. However it became the issue which almost caused the rejection of the Statute of Autonomy by the Congress of Deputies in 1982.

At the start of the democratic transition Valencian: "País Valencià", Spanish: "Pais Valenciano" (roughly translated as "Valencian Country") seemed to enjoy a wide consensus. It was under this name that the "Consell del País Valencià" was established, and it was this name which was used in the Call for Autonomy of 1978-10-08, signed by both the UCD and by the postfranquists of the Alianza Popular.

The blaverist view, minority even on the right at first, was that the term "País Valencià" implied an identification with the "Països Catalans", an anathema to the blaverists. In the context of the political tensions of 1979–80, they called ever more loudly for the alternative name "Regne de Valencia" ("Kingdom of Valencia").

Valencian language

Role of the autonomous institutions

See also

* Las Provincias
* Bernard Weiss

References

*Bodoque Arribas, Anselm (2000). [http://www.icps.es/archivos/WorkingPapers/WP_I_183.pdf "Partits i Conformació d'Elits Polítiques Autònomiques: Transició política i partits polítics al País Valencià"] Working Paper núm. 183 de l'Institut de Ciències Polítiques i Socials de Barcelona.
*Ruiz Monrabal, Vicente (2003). " [http://www.pre.gva.es/argos/fileadmin/argos/datos/RVEA/libro_41_42/372-41_42.pdf El largo camino hacia la Autonomía Valenciana.] " "Revista Valenciana d'Estudis Autonòmics" núm. 42/43: pp. 372–421.

External links

Blaverist movements

* [http://www.coaliciovalenciana.com/ Coalició Valenciana]
* [http://www.gav-valencianistes.com/ Grupo de Acció Valencianista]
* [http://www.naciovalenciana.com/ Nació Valenciana]
* [http://www.valenciafreedom.com/ Valencia Freedom]

Opposition to blaverism

* [http://www.antiblavers.info Antiblavers.info]
* [http://www.ciemen.org/mercator/pdf/wp18-def-ang.pdf The origins and evolution of language secessionism in Valencia]