A strong article by Jordi Amat on the attempts by Spain to ruin distinguished Prof. Andreu Mas-Colell
Click here 
if need be to access the whole text.
if need be to access the whole text.
Es mostren els missatges amb l'etiqueta de comentaris La Vanguardia. Mostrar tots els missatges
Es mostren els missatges amb l'etiqueta de comentaris La Vanguardia. Mostrar tots els missatges
23 de juny 2021
6 de des. 2020
An article by Rt. Hon. Carles Puigdemont on relations with Spain (6 DEC 2020)
The 130th president of Catalonia, Rt. Hon. Carles Puigdemont, has written an important article on Catalonia's relations with Spain. I trust the author will authorize this English translation.
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to read the whole post, if need be.
to read the whole post, if need be.29 d’oct. 2020
An article by Delibes published in 1967 "La fiesta nacional" (posted 28 OCT 2020)
Un article publicat a La Vanguardia, del 10 de setembrer de 1967.
Click to read the whole post, if need be.
to read the whole post, if need be.
26 de gen. 2020
Una prohibició del català, de 1896!
Un incident de prohibició del català i de l'èuscar... de 1896. Derogada a lavista de les protestes.
Clica aquí si cal, per llegir el post sencer
Clica aquí
si cal, per llegir el post sencer19 de juny 2014
Entrevista al papa Francisco: "La secesión de una nación hay que tomarla con pinzas"
...
¿Le preocupa el conflicto entre Catalunya y España?
Toda división me preocupa. Hay independencia por emancipación y hay independencia por secesión. Las independencias por emancipación, por ejemplo, son las americanas, que se emanciparon de los estados europeos. Las independencias de pueblos por secesión es un desmembramiento, a veces es muy obvio. Pensemos en la antigua Yugoslavia. Obviamente, hay pueblos con culturas tan diversas que ni con cola se podían pegar. El caso yugoslavo es muy claro, pero yo me pregunto si es tan claro en otros casos, en otros pueblos que hasta ahora han estado juntos. Hay que estudiar caso por caso. Escocia, la Padania, Catalunya. Habrán casos que serán justos y casos que no serán justos, pero la secesión de una nación sin un antecedente de unidad forzosa hay que tomarla con muchas pinzas y analizarla caso por caso.
http://www.lavanguardia.com/internacional/20140612/54408951579/entrevista-papa-francisco.html
Our English translation:
...
Are you concerned about the conflict between Catalonia and Spain?
All divisions worry me. There's independence by emancipation and independence by secession. Independence by emancipation, for example, that of American countries, that were emancipated from European states. The independence of peoples by secession is a break, sometimes this is very obvious. Think of the former Yugoslavia. Obviously, the people there had such diverse cultures that they wouldn't stick together even with glue. The Yugoslav case is very clear, but I wonder if it is as clear in other cases, in other peoples that have been together up to now. They need to be studied case by case. Scotland, Padania, Catalonia. There will be cases that are fair and cases that are not fair, but the secession of a people without a prior history of forced unity must be looked at with great caution, and be analyzed case by case.
1 d’ag. 2012
Current Affairs in Catalonia (August 2012) Part 1
We recommend an article entitled "El Setge" ("The Siege") by La Vanguardia columnist Jordi Graupera. It was published on July 28th. This article should not be confused with the one written by Manel Cuyàs, with the same title, published in El Punt Avui on April 15th 2012: http://www.elpuntavui.cat/noticia/article/7-vista/8-articles/528207.html (see my English translation here: http://miquelstrubell.blogspot.com/2012/04/siege.html)
http://epaper.lavanguardia.com/epaper/mobile/articleview.aspx?bookmarkid=FDYH5JLG8QF7
El setge (The Siege)
Jordi Graupera
(our translation)
The immediate reactions of the Spanish parties to the fiscal pact adopted by the Catalan Parliament last Wednesday coul lead one to think that a period of political confrontation between Catalan and Spanish institution is about to begin. However, the truth is quite another: the conflict broke out some time ago and the Government in Madrid has been working for months on the basis of the most radical hypothesis, taking for granted that the "uncharted territory” that CiU says we are entering is a secessionist operation.
The most graphic way of describing the Spanish Government's maneouvres is to talk about the Catalan civil servants' payroll. The State – that claims to have guaranteed cashflow until December –, instead of paying the money it is bound to do, as a lump sum for Catalan minister Mas-Colell to administer, makes monthly payments, with which the Generalitat (Catalan Goveernment) pays the payroll. But these are not made on 25th, as would be logical were minister Montoro to have the intention of negotiating something, or of “cooperating”, as he puts it. He makes the payments on the 31st, at 11.30 pm.
If you want to talk to the top officials in the President's Office or the Catalan Minitry of Economy, I recommend that you phone at the end of the month, late at night: you'll be sure to find them, they're always there, just in case the cash doesn't arrive. That's if they're lucky. Last month it didn't, and the money wouldn't have arrived in time; the Catalan minister warned that the Government might default – in which case complete political intervention would have ensued –, and Cristóbal Montoro said fine, it's your problem, you solve it. A short-term loan from a Catalan bank allowed the month to be saved. And this month the payroll will be met by the annual tax on fortunes - a feature of the Catalan tax system –, but I've seen mayors rushing because they won't have enough money to pay for services they have contracted. Next month, noone knows yet.
This situation means that the Government lives drowned by urgency, rushing to and fro putting out fires. We have a full Harvard professor acting as accountant and a whole political generation buried by bureaucracy. Moreover, any audacious moviment by our political representatives is immediatately neutralised by the civil servants' payroll. Any default would mean that 250,000 people's salary would not be paid, and that the domino effect would shatter everything. And put any end to self-government. And this is just one example. There are plenty more: yes, the siege has begun.
The only relevant question, then, is whether the Catalan Government is doing anything so as not to have to rely so drastically upon the Madrid agenda, which consists of empoverishing the Catalan Government (Generalitat), firstly to have it under its control, and then without any maneouvring leeway to dig in its heels and negotiate. A social explosion in Barcelona would be perfect for centralizing once and for all, with the assent of the world, and the only way out for Artur Mas is to appeal to the people, through any early election, and on a clearly pro-independence ticket. Time, however, is on Madrid's side: for every month he has less room in which to manoeuvre.
See previous current affairs postings on this weblog: http://estudiscatalans.blogspot.com/2012/06/current-affairs-in-catalonia.html
http://epaper.lavanguardia.com/epaper/mobile/articleview.aspx?bookmarkid=FDYH5JLG8QF7
El setge (The Siege)
Jordi Graupera
(our translation)
The immediate reactions of the Spanish parties to the fiscal pact adopted by the Catalan Parliament last Wednesday coul lead one to think that a period of political confrontation between Catalan and Spanish institution is about to begin. However, the truth is quite another: the conflict broke out some time ago and the Government in Madrid has been working for months on the basis of the most radical hypothesis, taking for granted that the "uncharted territory” that CiU says we are entering is a secessionist operation.
The most graphic way of describing the Spanish Government's maneouvres is to talk about the Catalan civil servants' payroll. The State – that claims to have guaranteed cashflow until December –, instead of paying the money it is bound to do, as a lump sum for Catalan minister Mas-Colell to administer, makes monthly payments, with which the Generalitat (Catalan Goveernment) pays the payroll. But these are not made on 25th, as would be logical were minister Montoro to have the intention of negotiating something, or of “cooperating”, as he puts it. He makes the payments on the 31st, at 11.30 pm.
If you want to talk to the top officials in the President's Office or the Catalan Minitry of Economy, I recommend that you phone at the end of the month, late at night: you'll be sure to find them, they're always there, just in case the cash doesn't arrive. That's if they're lucky. Last month it didn't, and the money wouldn't have arrived in time; the Catalan minister warned that the Government might default – in which case complete political intervention would have ensued –, and Cristóbal Montoro said fine, it's your problem, you solve it. A short-term loan from a Catalan bank allowed the month to be saved. And this month the payroll will be met by the annual tax on fortunes - a feature of the Catalan tax system –, but I've seen mayors rushing because they won't have enough money to pay for services they have contracted. Next month, noone knows yet.
This situation means that the Government lives drowned by urgency, rushing to and fro putting out fires. We have a full Harvard professor acting as accountant and a whole political generation buried by bureaucracy. Moreover, any audacious moviment by our political representatives is immediatately neutralised by the civil servants' payroll. Any default would mean that 250,000 people's salary would not be paid, and that the domino effect would shatter everything. And put any end to self-government. And this is just one example. There are plenty more: yes, the siege has begun.
The only relevant question, then, is whether the Catalan Government is doing anything so as not to have to rely so drastically upon the Madrid agenda, which consists of empoverishing the Catalan Government (Generalitat), firstly to have it under its control, and then without any maneouvring leeway to dig in its heels and negotiate. A social explosion in Barcelona would be perfect for centralizing once and for all, with the assent of the world, and the only way out for Artur Mas is to appeal to the people, through any early election, and on a clearly pro-independence ticket. Time, however, is on Madrid's side: for every month he has less room in which to manoeuvre.
See previous current affairs postings on this weblog: http://estudiscatalans.blogspot.com/2012/06/current-affairs-in-catalonia.html
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