Session 4 & 5: Catalan Nationalism through

Transition to Democracy

► Catalan Nationalism in Comparative

Perspective

► IESBarcelona
► FALL 2007 PROGRAM

► Instructor: Andrew Davis

► e-mail: ad374@iesbarcelona.org
1
 19 century context
th

► Politics
► Society
► Economy

2
Political Integration of Catalonia
into Spain (partial)
► Last remnants of institutional autonomy removed
after Bourbon takeover and Nueva Planta decrees,
1716.

► Catalonia is now officially part of ‘Spain’ in every

sense. Economically, this ties Catalonia more
deeply to Spain, how?

► Catalonia is allowed into the empire, and enjoys

protected markets

► Peripheral bourgeoisie dependent on the centre, as

they needed the protected markets of empire to
survive. So Catalan interests in Madrid were
powerful lobbies, not burgeoning separatist 3

movements.
 Industrial Revolution
Catalonia
► During the nineteenth century, Catalonia
moves away from traditional manufacturing
to modern industry.
► Slow and gradual until 1840, but after the
First Carlist War, growth became
spectacular.
► The Catalan textile industry was most
important.
► Early factory conditions are poor, migration
from countryside is socially traumatic.
4
Integration into a frail system

► Forty-three pronunciamientos between

1814 and 1923, 11 of which were
successful.
► Many liberal constitutions (1812, 1820,
1836-1837, 1854 and 1868-1869) but
little chance of success or stability

5
The beginning of nationalism
► Industrial revolution is on in Catalonia,
positive growth, poor conditions,
dependent on central government
assistance. State is only minimally
functional. What are your interests,
concerns at this time?

3) Textile owner in Barcelona

4) Factory worker in Barcelona
5) Politician from Madrid
6) Politician from Barcelona 6
 Typology of Political
Regionalism (Catalanism)
► Conversi argues that there are four:

► Cultural revivalists
► Progressive federalists
► Anti-Bourbon traditionalists
► Industrial Bourgeoisie

7
 The Renaixença
► Early 19th century romantic revivalist movement in
Catalan language and culture, akin to the Galician
Renaixensa or the Occitan Félibrige movements.

► This movement ended a period of Catalan cultural

decline commonly known as Decadència dating
from the Nueva Planta decrees, which suppressed
Catalonia's traditional institutions, privileges, and
fueros

► Aimed for the full restoration of Catalan as a

language of culture, not only through the promotion
of various forms of art, theatre and literature in this
language, but also attempting to establish a
normative standard for the language, something
however not fully accomplished until the first 8
9
 Catalanisme starts as cultural
phenomenon
► Renaixença – response to the disruption and
violence brought about by modernization.

► Thepast becomes an escape route to avoid

confronting the problems of modernity – this
involves a historicist reconstruction of an
idealized past, focusing on the middle ages.

► Howwill this affect political nationalism

when it emerges later – how?
10
 Political Catalanism
► When Catalanism becomes political, there is
already a historiography built up, fruit of the
Renaixença

► Inother words, they had a pre-existing

definition of Catalan identity to work with,
already completed by cultural revivalists.

► But
how to ‘use’ the history moving forward
was the site of controversy…
11
 Catalan bourgeoisie
► The most critical group in Catalonia -
They had bought into Spain as part of
an imperial project.
► Were not inherently Catalan
nationalists.
► Much of the Catalan middle class still
depended on trade with Cuba and the
Philippines, and on protectionist trade
measures.
12
 Bourgeoisie interests
► The bourgeoisie in Catalonia was the
only one to have interests in industry
in Spain.
► Because of growth, there was a
growing contrast between industrial
Catalonia and Spain, which was more
agricultural.
► They pressed for protectionist
economic measures that would reduce
the competition of products from
13
 Carlism in Catalonia
► Carlism was a social and political movement
that formed in support of Carlos María Isidro,
the brother of Fernando VII. Reaction by
traditional rural society against the secular,
centralist and modernizing efforts of liberal
and republican regimes.
► The movement drew all those nostalgic for
absolutism, as well as farmers and peasants
badly affected by liberal measures.
► The Catalan Carlists, of whom there were
many in the inland areas and in the
Pyrenees, defended a reactionary
traditionalism with return to local-self rule
under the king. 14
 Carlism in Catalonia II
► There were three Carlist wars on Catalan
soil: the Seven Years' War of 1833-40, the
War of the Matiners (one of the warring
factions) of 1846-49 and the third Carlist
War (1872-76).

► In
Catalonia, Carlists were supported by the
Church, because they supported traditional
values, including staunch Catholicism
15
 Catalan Federalism
► Federalism in Spain was a ‘Catalan project’ –
administration needed to be reformed and
decentralized. Wanted to ‘fix’ Spain
► Catalan bourgeoisie would regenerate Spain
from a politically resurgent Catalonia – they
would show Spain the way, imposing their
model on ‘backward’ Spain.
► They believed that federalism would
regenerate all the Spanish regions. But it
was REPUBLICAN and LAIQUE.
► Francesc Pi i Maragall – Las nacionalidades
(1877)
16
Catalanisme – Broad Church but
intellectual by nature
►3 main sources – all believed in autonomy
for Catalonia. What do you see as the
difference?

► Carlism – return to the past

► Moderate and conservative Catalanism - not
fully democratic, and represented the
Catalan industrial bourgeoisie.
► Republican federalists - more democratic,
individualist and linked to the budding
worker movements, whose intellectual
leader was Francisco Pi i Maragall.
17
 The first Catalan Political
Party
► Bourgeoisie founds Lliga de Catalunya
(1887) and becomes Lliga Regionalista to
contest the Spanish elections of 1901,
affirming that if elected they would ‘by all
legal means to achieved the autonomy of
the Catalan people within the Spanish state’.
► This breaks the grip of the two-party system
in Spain (Conservatives and Liberals), and
the corrupt turno pacifico. Dominates
Catalan politics until 1931, and led by
industrialists. 18
 The Regionalist League
► The Lliga Regionalista, or Regionalist
League, represented moderate, socially
conservative Catalanism that expressed the
concerns of part of the industrial
bourgeoisie, farm landowners and the
middle class.
► Its political aims included self-government
for Catalonia that would ensure that the
country was modernised, and it sought to
intervene in the affairs of the Spanish
government in a pragmatic way that would 19

lead to modernisation.
 Enric Prat de la Riba
► Leaderof the Lliga - Important figure in
Catalan nationalism - he went farther than
most. Declares Catalonia a nation as part of
a Spanish state but….

► ‘Catalonia’s mission was to modernize

Spain, unite the Iberian peninsula, and then
establish a new empire that would civilize
the backward peoples of the world’
► Lliga more regionalist than nationalist,
sought to assert Catalan interests to
modernize Spain by shifting political power
to the industrial bourgeoisie of the
periphery.
20
 Importance of Lliga
► They broke up the broken and corrupt
system of liberals and conservatives
(known as the restoration monarchy) –
at least in Catalonia
► Positive effects – broke the cycle of
corruption and false democracy

21
 ‘Bases de Manresa’
► In 1892, it was published by the Unió
Catalanista, and meant to create a big-tent
Catalan nationalist grouping. Headed by Prat
de la Riba, and included members of Lliga
and many others, they defined Catalonia in
truly nationalist terms.
► Prat de la Riba defines Spain as simply a
political entity, the state, while Catalonia was
the nation to which they were proud
members.
► They called for powers in taxation, coinage,
legislative and executive authority, civil,
penal and mercantile legislation, regional
army and police units, education, and the
return of the more traditional political 22
 The Reaction from Madrid
► Closure of Newspapers
► Prevention of meeting
► Closing of clubs and societies
► These policies legitimized the
nationalists.

► Finalstraw which confirms nationalist

feeling comes in 1898. What
happened? 23
 Crisis in Cuba and the
Philippines
► The entry in 1898 of the United States into
Spain's war against the pro-independence
fighters in Cuba and the Philippines resulted
in Spain's loss of its last colonies.
► The economic consequences of the
disappearance of safe colonial markets were
also severe. In Catalonia, the defeat raised a
new awareness amongst the industrial
bourgeoisie and was the definitive starting
point for political Catalanism.
24
 Desastre del ’98 – Loss of Empire

► No longer the imperial ties to help Catalan

business – Bourgeoisie exasperated
► Petit bourgeoisie – shop owners, equally as
affected
► Factories close, wages depressed – Catalan
workers affected
► What reaction does this engender?

25
 Political Catalanism I
► The loss of the Cuban and Philippine
colonial markets finally pushed the
Catalan industrial middle class into
political action.
► The economic effects consolidate
affection among workers for various
combinations of socialism, anarchism,
republicanism and federalism.

26
 Two Basic Principles of
Catalanisme
► Rejection of a centralized Spanish
state, and the pushing for a
decentralized one. Convert other
regions and nationalities to their
decentralized caused.
► The hecho diferencial (fet diferencial).
The acceptance that Catalonia has
specific characteristics, different from
those of Spain - language, private law,
culture, common history, and general
cultural characteristics. 27
 But they are different
‘nationalisms’
► The peasant nationalism –
consequence of modernization and
failure of Spanish state to adapt -
unable to establish universal
education, offer national symbols or
rituals.
► Textile magnate – reacting to loss of
empire, assisting Catalan business.
This Catalan nationalism still about
how to ‘fix’ Spain. 28
Magazine ‘Cu-cut!’ uses the
army as butt of a joke

29
Central Government’s Reaction:
The Law of Jurisdictions
► In1906 the Law of Jurisdictions was
passed, which stated that offenses
against the army or any national symbols
would be prosecuted in a military
tribunal.

► ByMarch 1907, the autonomists had

been compelled to join forces against the
central gov’t, which gave the military
authorities the power to try by courts
martial all civilian acts inimical to the
army.
30
 Political Catalanism II
► In 1906, the Lliga joined a broad coalition
that was nationalist in outlook and which
brought together diverse, even
contradictory, political forces in the
Solidaritat Catalana (Catalan Solidarity).
► The Lliga’s pragmatic politics combined
nationalist feeling with the firm decision to
intervene in the governing of the Spanish
state.
► The Catalan electoral map changed
dramatically: the dynastic parties were
pushed aside and the political field was
divided up between the Lliga Regionalista
and the republican parties. 31
 Alejandro Lerroux and
Lerrouxism
► Alejandro Lerroux (1864-1949), the leader of
the Radical Republican Party, combined
verbal and anti-clerical radicalism that was
close to the politics of revolution with a
political approach that was pro-Spanish.
► In 1905, he championed the army and was
the enemy of Catalan Solidarity. His
confused and demagogic discourse
impressed the working and middle classes in
Barcelona. His electoral strategy and
brilliant public speaking turned the sector of
republicans that he led into a modern party
of the masses.
32
 Alejandro Lerroux and
Lerrouxism II
► Bitterlyanticlerical republican and
‘proletarian’ anti-Catalanist.
► Attracted the Barcelona poor with food
cooperatives, mutual benefits, day and
evening classes, and inexpensive
theatrical productions.
► Why was anarchism so popular in
Barcelona?
33
Alejandro Lerroux 1864-1949

34
► Itwas the first Spanish city to
industrialize, and thus the first to
experience the social upheaval that
had occurred earlier in other parts of
Europe.

► Thus, unrest in Spain first appears in

Barcelona
35
 Barcelona – anarchist haven
► Bourgeoisie was made of conservatives, who
were also nationalists – banding together
politically to lobby central government for
protectionism and other assistance.
► Because they were increasingly unable to
prevail against central government – they
took an increasingly intractable stance
towards their workers.
► Central gov’t doesn’t bother to intervene
until social unrest gets out of control – often
repression is harsh, and the cycle repeats
itself. 36
 Seeds of Revolt
► On May 15, 1909 the Rusinol factory in
the Ter valley was closed down, and
800 workers were discharged. The
lockout was the opening blow in
another campaign to lower wages
throughout the textile industry.
► It was against this background of
mounting crisis in Barcelona that the
Maura ministry, on July 11, announced
a call-up of military reserves for active
duty in Morocco. 37
Spanish Africa

38
 Setmana Tragica (the Tragic
Week) 1909
► Barcelona revolts - the week of July 26 to
August 1, a largely spontaneous uprising
which lead to five days of shooting, looting,
murders, bombs and barricades.
► Hundreds of demonstrators were killed in
the streets while protesting against the
military service system and factory closures
► anarchists and radical republicans burned
21 churches and 40 convents (not
uncommon for anti-Catholic ideologues in
Spain for past 100 years)
39
 Catalanisme arrives to the
Popular Classes

► Soledarietat Catalana, the umbrella group

which brought the Lliga together with other
Catalan forces, falls apart.
► Lliga supports subsequent repression and
begins to lose support w/i working class
because of it.
► The revolt of the Setmana Tragica turns
political Catalanisme from a movement of
elites, to one which was popularized across
class lines. 40
 Reaction of Bourgeoisie
► Bourgeoisie becomes mistrustful of
electoral methods and drifted toward
political subterfuge or the use of direct
action. The industrial bourgeoisie
returned to its old practice of making
behind-the-scene deals.
► The inner paralysis of these classes
increasingly tended to paralyze the
entire constitutional system,
restricting political life to maneuvers
within the government. 41
 Central government’s role
► Thisre-stitched up political system, which
conservative Catalanism went along with
(The Lliga would eventually lose its primacy
by cooperating with Primo dictatorship)
opens the way for other ideological
proposals. Most importantly:

► Firstgroup pushing for outright

independence – Estat Català, led by
Francesc Macià in 1922.
► Beginning of left-wing Catalanisme
42
 Conservative Concession - The
Mancomunitat
► The Mancomunitat de Catalunya was
officially constituted on 6 April 1914.
► The Mancomunitat was a federation of the
four provincial Catalan councils and,
although it was a strictly administrative
institution, it was a recognition by the
Spanish state of the character and unity of
Catalonia.
► It was the first self-governing body since
1716. With it, the Catalan language returned
to an official sphere of influence. Enric Prat
de la Riba became the Mancomunitat’s first 43

president.
 Mancommunitat encourages
further Catalanisme -
noucentisme
► Pompeu Fabra – standardizes Catalan
(1913-1932)
► Institut d’Estudis Catalans (1907)
► Catalan National Library (1914)
► Increased focus on education
► But central government still
influential…
44
 By way of comparison -
Bourbon’s Social Institutions
Regulating the Arts and Sciences:

► Royal Academy of Language (1714)

► Royal Academy of History (1738)
► Royal Academy of Fine Arts (1744)
► Royal Academy of Medicine and
Surgery (1737)

45
 Summary of late Restoration
Monarchy (1902-1923)
► Between 1902-23, 34 different
governments
► All attempts to reform corrupt system
fail
► High class tension over Morocco and
industrial relations
► In 1923, due to this instability, and
following longstanding tradition,
Miguel Primo de Rivera pushes another
pronunciamiento. Initially strongly 46

supported.
 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► In
order to solve the ‘problem of the
nation’, the military Captain General of
Catalonia, Miguel Primo de Rivera
(1870-1930), proclaimed himself
dictator of Spain in 1923, with the
authorization of the king. 

47
 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► Establishes a Military Directory
(although two years later he becomes
a government of civil politicians) and
suspends the civil Constitution. 
► The Dictatorship welcomed with
enthusiasm by almost everybody
(including the King, and the Lliga
Regionalista in CAT). 
► It was also initially successful in
restoring public order.
48
 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► Public work projects: railroads,
highways, marshes, ports and
reforestation, thus ending the jobs
crisis. 
► Also the Banco de Crédito Industrial
and the Banco de Crédito Local were
established, stimulated the small
businesses and savings. 

49
 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► The system of collection of taxes
improves
► The national budget is balanced.
► Simultaneously, general Primo de
Rivera manages to pacify the north of
Morocco after two years military
(1925-1927). 

50
 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► BUT - All this is coming on top of a
culturally homogenizing, restrictive
and authoritarian government.
► Country needed reforms, but he relied
on Church and Military.
► Despite the advances of the
Dictatorship, the intellectuals, liberal
and the revolutionaries complained
the persistent suppression of
constitutional guarantees
51
 Effects in Catalonia
► Catalan flag and language and banned
► Catalanist organizations dissolved,
meetings prohibited
► Centralization of Spanish curriculum
► Dissolves the Mancommunitat (1925)
► Changed street names
► Banned language’s use on shops
► Becomes a model for Franco later on…

52
 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► The Great Depression of 1929
ended the prosperity of the Directory
(now public neither happy with social
reforms or economy)
► King Alfonso XIII, fearing the future of
the monarchy, rescinds his support of
the dictator and, subsequently, Primo
de Rivera is forced to resign his
position in 1930. 
53
 Pact of San Sebastian
► The Pact of San Sebastián (1930)
united the liberal politicians
(republican moderate) and to the
revolutionary extremists (socialist and
anarchists) to overthrow the Bourbon
monarchy and to exile King Alfonso
XIII.

54
Second Republic (1931-1936)
► In the elections of April of 1931,
although the monarchic parties obtained a
great majority in the rural countryside, the
coalition of republican and socialist parties
won in the cities and Catalonia. 
► The new government declares a Spanish
Federal Republic (1931-1936)
► In order to avoid a civil war, the King leaves
the country on the April 14th 1931 for
France. The King dies later in Rome in 1941.
55
 The Second Republic (1931-
9)
► Estado Integral - establishes a state
structure somewhere between unitary
and federal models

► It did not attempt another federal

structure, not acceptable to the
monarchists of varying stripes; nor did
it attempt a unitary one, the
uniformity of relations between center
and periphery could not be acceptable
56
 Catalan nationalism –
from right to left
► March 1931 - Disparate left-wing Catalan
nationalist parties join together to form
Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Catalan
Republican Left, ERC), led by Francesc
Macià. Esquerra replaces Lliga as the most
important party because the Lliga
collaborated with the dictatorship.
► Primo’s dictatorship had shattered
confidence BOTH in Spain and in the right,
including the Lliga. This connection is
reinforced under Franco. 57
 14 April 1931
► The municipal elections of 12 April 1931, the
first to be held since the dictatorship, gave
an ample victory to the left wing. On 14
April, Francesc Macià proclaimed the
Catalan Republic from the Palau de la
Generalitat.
► That same day, the Second Spanish
Republic was proclaimed in Madrid. Under
pressure from the provisional government of
the Spanish Republic, Macià agreed to turn
his proposal for a Catalan Republic into an
autonomous governing body, the 58
Generalitat de Catalunya.
 Repercussions for Catalonia
► September, 1932, the Catalans got
their local government body ‘back’,
the Generalitat (via a statute of
autonomy) after having been absent
since Philip V, as well as linguistic
autonomy, and some tax-raising
powers
► Statute of Autonomy (estatut)
approved
► Symbols and language restored
59
 The Statute of Self-
Government
► The Statute of Núria was approved by
99% of those who voted (75% of those
on the electoral roll) in a referendum
held on 2 August 1931.
► The statute defined Catalonia as a
autonomous region within the Spanish
republic and gave wide powers to the
Generalitat. Parliamentary processes
at the Spanish Cortes cut back the
initial proposal.
60
 2nd Republic and autonomous
instability
► 1933, right-wing group wins Spanish
elections, while Catalonia stays left. Central
government interference provokes Lluis
Companys (the head of Generalitat, Macia
had died) to declare a ‘Catalan Republic’ in
1934.
► Last only a few hours, but Generalitat
suspended and Catalan leaders jailed
► The Popular Front government, elected in
1936, restored the Generalitat and was
hailed in Catalonia
61
 Spanish Civil War
► On 18 and 19 July 1936, the military
insurrection that had begun in Africa
spread throughout the garrisons based
on the Peninsula, though the results
were uneven.
► In the cities of Catalonia, the public
order forces and anarcho-syndicalist
militants put a halt to the insurrection.

62
63
 Catalonia during the Civil
War
► During the Civil War, the Government of the
Generalitat, which remained loyal to the
Republic, organised the citizens' defence.
When Franco's troops entered Barcelona,
Lluis Companys (President of the
Generalitat) went into exile in France.
► On 23 December 1938, Franco's army began
its final offensive against Catalonia. The
republican army withdrew to avoid a
disorderly retreat.
64
 The End of the War
► Thousands of civilians made their way to the
French border. On 26 January 1939, Franco's
troops entered Barcelona. On 9 February,
Franco's troops reached Pertús (the border
town w/ France). On 1 April 1939, the war
came to an end.

► Companys was arrested there by the

Gestapo in France, he was extradited to
Madrid. On 3 October 1940, he was moved
to Montjuïc Castle in Barcelona and
executed by a firing squad the next day. 65
 Fall of the 2nd Republic and
Franco
► Conservative belief that it was liberal
democracy that had brought national
disunity.
► These were ‘dangerous’ decentralizing
policies
► The patria was threatened, and following
long-standing Spanish tradition, the military
would insert itself into the situation to exert
a measure of stability. This was the basis
for which the justification of the
interventions of both Primo and Franco was 66
Franco Dictatorship 1939 - 1975

► Inthe end, the Franco dictatorship

succeeded in quieting regional
dissension and creating a straight-
jacketed unity of the state through
repression, attempting to propagate
the idea of a uni-national, and uni-
cultural Spain.

67
 Economic and Social
Repression
► The post-war years were characterized by
adversity - rationing, the black market, fuel
restrictions and industrial stagnation - that
arose from the regime's policy of self-
sufficiency and interventionism.
► Attempts were made to break up the
economic fabric of Catalonia, and Catalan
companies were discriminated against in the
supply of raw materials and energy.
► Borders closed economically - autarky

68
 Repercussions II
► At home, the Francoist army of occupation
and the leaders of the "Nuevo Estado" (New
State) began to seek revenge. The
repression was extremely severe. All the
Catalan symbols were harshly suppressed
while a new set of fascistic imperial symbols
was imposed.
► Some 150,000 of the Catalans who
remained in Catalonia were imprisoned in
concentration camps; 4,000 of them were
shot. 69
 Cultural Repression

► The Catalan language was restricted to use in

private.
► Signs, the media, monuments and other symbols of
the Catalan identity were dismantled or put at the
service of the pro-Spanish nationalist discourse.
► Publishing in the Catalan language was outlawed
and could only be done clandestinely.
► The history of the country was removed from text
books and school curricula.
► The leading cultural institutions were closed down
or operated illegally in insecure circumstances.
70
 The Resistance

► From the outset, small groups of citizens

opposed the new regime.
► The FNC (National Front of Catalonia), the
CNT and the POUM (Workers' Party of
Marxist Unification) organised resistance
networks.
► BUT…when it became evident that the allies
would take no action against Franco, the
resistance collapsed and the repression
grew harsher. 71
 1939-1959 – Civil War to the
Technocratic Era
► Spain governed by traditionalist
Spanish Catholic nationalist regime
► Obsession with ‘national unity’ – Calvo
Soltelo ‘I’d prefer a Red Spain to a
broken Spain’.
► A totalitarian system which attempted
to control the totality of civil culture

72
 Economy under Franco
► Important year 1959 – Franco shuffles
his cabinet, gets rid of the Falangists
and Carlists, and brings in Opus Dei
technocrats. Economy had been
faltering and might have threatened
the regime if he continued.

► What do you know about Opus Dei?

73
 Opus Dei was founded by a
Roman Catholic priest,
Josemaría Escrivá, on 2 October
1928 in Madrid, Spain
► Opus Dei is an organization within the
Roman Catholic church. As such, it
ultimately shares the overall theology of the
Catholic Church. Opus Dei does place
special emphasis on certain aspects of
Catholic doctrine. Critics of Opus Dei have
argued that it is cult-like, secretive, and
highly controlling. Supporters dispute these
allegations. Opus Dei stresses the
importance of labor, and places great value
74
 Economy under Opus
► They implemented a Stabilisation plan,
which would remove the last vestiges
of autarky, implementing a capitalist
economy and creating growth.
► From 1963 – Spain experiences the
‘milagro económico’. Concentrated in
the Basque Country and Catalonia.

75
 Growth and Catalonia
► Catalonia went through unprecedented
economic growth. The consolidation of
industrial diversification turned Catalan
industry into the principal provider of goods
for the Spanish market.
► This expansion took place without any type
of urban planning nor the slightest degree of
democratic control over the economy. Urban
chaos and the lack of a basic infrastructure
were common in the large cities and the
tourist areas on the coast. 76
 Immigration in Catalonia

People living in Catalonia 1910 1920 1930 1940 1970 1981

People born in Catalonia as % of 94,56 85,8 80,3 80,9 62,5 63,8
total population
People born outside Catalonia as % 5,44 14,2 19,7 19,1 37,5 36,2
of total population

77
 Catalan culture late Franco
period
► Modest revival of both language and culture
► Language restrictions eased
► Exiled intellectuals allowed to return
► Cultural gatherings allowed
► More sensitive subjects such as history
taught clandestinely
► Jordi Pujol – Catalan activist, ‘fer pais’.
► All of this is tightly controlled, and censored,
but not ‘erased’, as it had been in the first
years… 78
 The Assembly of Catalonia
► The Assembly of Catalonia (Assamblea de
Catalunya) was set up on 7 November 1971 and, as
an anti-Franco platform, it led popular
demonstrations right through to the early years of
the democratic transition.
► Its program included liberty, amnesty, the Statute
of Self-government as the first step towards self-
determination, and co-ordination with the
democratic struggle taking place elsewhere in
Spain.
► The assembly was made up of political parties,
trade unions, professional associations, local and
district democratic assemblies, residents'
associations and a large number of intellectuals and
individuals with no particular affiliations.
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Inclusive Catalan nationalism
► Twomost powerful political forces late-
Franco period
 Communists (PSUC)
 Catholic Nationalists (led by Jordi Pujol)

► What joined them?

 Social question (integration of immigrants)
 National question (particularly language rights)

► The ‘bridge’ across the ideology gap was

defense of Catalan culture, identity and
interests.
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 Franco dies – November
1975
► AsI wrote in an earlier slide: the
Franco dictatorship succeeded in
quieting regional dissension and
creating a straight-jacketed unity of
the state through repression’

► Whathappened when the lid was

taken off?
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