The battle at school

The debate over the sovereignty of Catalonia has of late overshadowed the battle at school. But don’t be fooled. The Spanish State is deploying a terrible offensive throughout the Catalan Countries against the school systems and against the language. Like we haven't seen since Franco's death. Through laws, school closings, the imposition of supposedly trilingual programs, with threats to teachers and parents… The entire state apparatus has gotten in line to annihilate linguistic normalization in Catalonia, in Valencia and in the Balearic Islands. Simultaneously. We are one sole target and they're not even trying to keep up appearances anymore. Wert [Spain's Education minister] yesterday, as he presented his law, made it absolutely clear that the only protected language will be Spanish. Crystal clear, he couldn't have been more explicit.

In the Balearic Islands and in Valencia the reaction is commensurate with the situation. Tomorrow the presentation of a communal 'red card' to Fabra [Valencia's president] will be a good indicator of the PP's weakness. And in the Islands, the mobilization of parents and teachers is simply insurmountable. At the same time, I have the sensation that people in Catalonia are not aware just how much more is at stake besides just the language in the classroom.

The concerted attack against the language has two objectives in Catalonia. The first is obvious: create division between the people in a way that they have been unable to achieve so far. From Madrid they watch powerlessly while the country has not split over the independence process and they want to sow discord at whatever cost, just like Aznar said. There are just a few months left and little resources for achieving the goal, and therefore all of their effort will go against the language, by using the children. So that they can see if they can create the public open confrontation that their destablization strategy requires.

The second thing is that they are trying to make the conflict explode before the referendum, or simultaneously. Councilor Rigau has given explicit orders to disobey the Wert Law—in schools and in editorials, with the support of the Parliament of Catalonia. Now, imagine if in September, when the new school year begins, the councilor is brought before the courts for her actions. Or worse, if they try to arrest her. It's not an unlikely hypothesis. And watch out for the consequences it would have, a scant two months before the referendum.

director@vilaweb.cat

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I have the sensation that people in Catalonia are not aware just how much more is at stake besides just the language in the classroom