Blaverism ( ca-valencia, blaverisme, ) is a
Spanish nationalist
The creation of the tradition of the political community of Spaniards as common destiny over other communities has been argued to trace back to the Cortes of Cádiz. Revisiting the history of Spain, after 1812 Spanish liberalism tended to take fo ...
and
Valencian regionalist ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...
in the
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...
(
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
) that emerged with the
Spanish transition to democracy
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
characterised by strong
anti-Catalanism
Anti-Catalanism ( ca, anticatalanisme, ) is the collective name given to various historical trends in France, Italy, and Spain that have been hostile to Catalan culture and traditions.
Description
In a historical context, anti-Catalanism expres ...
, born out of its opposition to
Joan Fuster
Joan Fuster i Ortells (; 23 November 1922 – 21 June 1992) was an influential Spanish writer. He is considered a major writer in the Valencian language (a dialect of the Catalan language), and his work contributed to reinvigorate left-wing, pr ...
's book ''
Nosaltres, els valencians
''Nosaltres, els valencians'' (; "We, the Valencians"), is a historical and political essay by the Valencian (Spain) author Joan Fuster, first published in 1962.
The book deals with Valencians, especially their national identity and their relatio ...
'' (1962), which promoted the concept of the ''
Catalan Countries
The Catalan Countries ( ca, països catalans, , ) refers to those territories where the Catalan language is spoken. They include the Spanish regions of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencian Community, Valencia, and parts of Aragon (''La F ...
'' which includes Valencia. They consider Fuster's ideas as an imperialist
Catalan nationalist
Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation.
Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...
movement that tries to impose Catalan domination upon Valencia.
Blaverism takes its name from the blue ( ca-valencia, blava, link=no) fringe which distinguishes the
Valencian flag from
other flags with a common origin, particularly from the Catalan.
The term "blaverism" originally had a negative connotation, often pejorative connotation still kept among the social groups who consider the blaverism a type of
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
movement. Nowadays, the term ''
blaver'' is recognised by different
Valencian language
Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the El Carche comarca in Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance language also known as Catala ...
dictionaries, including the
normative
Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard. Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A norm in ...
made by the
Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
The Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua ("Valencian Academy of the Language"), also known by the acronym AVL, is an institution created on September 16, 1998, by the Valencian Parliament, which belongs to the set of official institutions that com ...
.
In its origins in the second half of the twentieth century, blaverism was a
populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
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
Joan Fuster i Ortells (; 23 November 1922 – 21 June 1992) was an influential Spanish writer. He is considered a major writer in the Valencian language (a dialect of the Catalan language), and his work contributed to reinvigorate left-wing, pr ...
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
Catalans (Catalan language, Catalan, French language, French and Occitan language, Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian language, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance languages, Romance ethnic group native to Cataloni ...
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 ''is identical'' to the Catalan. It ''is'' the same one. 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: in this sense it can be described as a
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
movement, although many of its early proponents were, in fact, latter-
Francoists
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
.
On September 11, 1981, two bombs exploded in Fuster's house,
seriously damaging his library and archive. Nobody was prosecuted,
but it is widely believed that it was the blaverist response to Fuster's political and cultural position.
The democratic transition
Some observers warned as early as in 1976 that the
transition to democracy
Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...
, and particularly the economic problems of the time, could radicalize the conservative positions of a part of the right. 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, 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
The Union of the Democratic Centre (, UCD, also translated as "Democratic Centre Union") was an electoral alliance, and later political party, in Spain, existing from 1977 to 1983. It was initially led by Adolfo Suárez.
History
The coalition, ...
(UCD), which was in
power nationally (under
Adolfo Suárez
Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected prime minister since the Second Spanish Republic and a key figure in th ...
) but which trailed the socialists in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
and
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
. The first speech attacking pancatalanism came in December 1977 from
Emilio Attard
Emilio Attard Alonso ( Valencia, Spain, 8 April 1915 – Rocafort, 16 December 1997) was a Spanish politician.
Attard originally became politically active in his youth during the Second Spanish Republic. , its leader in the
province of Valencia
Valencia ( ca-valencia, València) is a province of Spain, in the central part of the autonomous Valencian Community. Of the province's over 2.5 million people (2018), one-third live in the capital, Valencia, which is also the capital of the au ...
.
Manuel Broseta
Manuel Broseta Pont (13 October 1932 – 15 February 1992) was a Spanish academic and politician. He was a member of the Senate of Spain between 1979 and 1982 and he served as State Secretary for Autonomous Communities for the Union of the Demo ...
, 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 anti-Catalanist articles to appear in the newspaper ''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 17 March 1978 and held its first meeting at the
Monastery of El Puig on 10 April. All four main parties—the UCD, the postfrancoists of the
Alianza Popular, the socialists of the
PSOE
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources:
*
*
*
* political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...
and the communists (
PCE)—were represented, and all signed a call for Valencian autonomy on 8 October, the eve of the Valencian national
day.
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 9 January 1979: 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 22 December 1979. 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
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
. The Valencian parliamentarians took the matter in hand after the failed
military coup
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...
of 23 February 1981 (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
The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house).
The Congress of Deputies meets ...
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.
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 9 March 1982 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 1 July 1982.
Blaverist positions
Blaverism's characteristic feature is its opposition to
Catalan nationalism
Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation.
Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...
(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
Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the El Carche comarca in Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance language also known as Catala ...
).
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
Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...
"''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
The Senyera (; meaning "pennon", "standard", "banner", "ensign", or, more generically, "flag" in Catalan language, Catalan) is a vexillological symbol based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red stripes on a yel ...
'') 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 9 October 1977.
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
Peter III of Aragon ( November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he conquered the Kingdom of Sicily and became King of Sicily in 1282, pres ...
(1336–87), who did much to formalize the autonomy of the
Kingdom of Valencia
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
within the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...
). This was adopted as the flag of the ''Consell del País Valencià'' on 24 April 1979: however the decision was seen as a
provocation by the UCD, 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 9 October 1979,
[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 22 December 1979 and the choice of flag was reversed on 14 January 1980. 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
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
(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
The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self-government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organized.
It consists of seven institutions including the ''Corts Valen ...
. 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
Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...
: ''País Valencià'',
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
: ''País 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 8 October 1978, 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
The Catalan Countries ( ca, països catalans, , ) refers to those territories where the Catalan language is spoken. They include the Spanish regions of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, and parts of Aragon (''La Franja'') and Murcia ( ...
'', 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
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
").
Valencian language
Role of the autonomous institutions
See also
*
Norms of El Puig
The Norms of El Puig (Valencian: ''Normes d'El Puig''), also known as Norms of the RACV (Valencian: ''Normes de la RACV''), are the linguistic rules developed by the Royal Academy of Valencian Culture (RACV) (Valencian: ''Real Acadèmia de Cultu ...
*
Grup d'Acció Valencianista
*
Valencian Coalition
*
Valencian Union
Valencian Union ( ca-valencia, Unió Valenciana; es, Unión Valenciana; UV) was a regionalist political party in the Valencian Community, Spain.
The party had not been represented in the Valencian autonomous parliament since 1999. It scored ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
* {{cite book , last=Flor i Moreno , first=Vicent , author-link=Vicent Flor i Moreno , title=
Noves glòries a Espanya. Anticatalanisme i identitat valenciana , edition=1a, publisher=editorial Afers , location=Catarroja , date=2011 , isbn=978-84-92542-47-5
*Ruiz Monrabal, Vicente (2003).
El largo camino hacia la Autonomía Valenciana. ''Revista Valenciana d'Estudis Autonòmics'' núm. 42/43: pp. 372–421.
External links
The origins and evolution of language secessionism in Valencia work by Vicent Climent-Ferrando.
Nationalism in Spain
Valencian Community
Valencian nationalism
Far-right politics in Spain