Anti-Catalanism

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Anti-Catalanism is the collective name given to various political attitudes, nowadays particularly in Spain, that oppose to Catalanism. Hence, it can refer to a reaction against Catalan nationalism or, particularly, Catalan independentism. In a broader context, it may mean a xenophobic attitude towards the Catalan language, Catalan people, Catalan culture or anything identified with Catalonia and the political implications of this attitude. In its most extreme circumstances, this may also be referred as Catalanophobia.

Anti-Catalanism may be perceived particularly among those Spain-wide political parties more to the right of the political spectrum. Far-right political groupings such as España 2000 object strongly to the autonomy enjoyed by Catalonia, claiming that the granting of autonomy to Catalonia and other regions will lead to the breakup of Spain. A former saying amongst latter day Francoists during the Spanish Transition (late 1970s, early 1980s) illustrating this attitude was: Antes roja que rota, which roughly translates as: "(I would) Rather (see Spain) red than broken", meaning that these people would prefer to see Spain become Communist than have regions (like Catalonia or the Basque Country) seceding from it.

Several political movements, known for organizing boycotts of products from Catalonia, are also actively identified with anti-Catalanism.

Anti-Catalanism has an additional, more local, manifestation, called Blaverism in the Valencian Community. It is a movement against the concept of the Països Catalans as elaborated by Valencian author Joan Fuster, which sees Valencia as part of a grouping of regions united by a common Catalan culture which should unite as an independent state from Spain. Proponents of Blaverism see this concept as "Catalan expansionism". Blaverism is best reflected in debates concerning the status of Valencian.

One example of this is the campaign for recognition and support to Valencian as a distinct official language (instead of a variety or alternate name for Catalan, as it would be identified by most linguists), and its official use in European Union's organisms.

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[edit] External links

[edit] Further reading

  • Jaume Medina, "L'anticatalanisme del diari ABC (1916-1936)", Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat | col·lecció Biblioteca Serra d'Or. ISBN 978-84-7826-606-7