Division: the trap that must be avoided

In 338 BC Rome defeated the Latin League, a confederation of tribes led by Alba Longa, which comprised thirty settlements in the central part of the Italian peninsula. After the defeat, the winners faced a worrying question: how to control League territory, to prevent anyone else taking control of it? They did so by seeding discord among the thirty cities. They allowed a few to join the empire, left a few more out, trimmed the domains arbitrarily in some cases, and extended them in others. What were they after? They wanted to put all these cities into conflict with each other, so they would fight and compete with each other, and as well as for the favors of Rome, which thus became the undisputed capital of the empire. The move, brilliantly and tremendously effective, was the driving force behind Rome’s territorial expansion and became known forever in the famous ‘divide et impera’ (‘divide and prevail’, or ‘divide and conquer’), wrongly attributed centuries later to the great Julius Caesar.

I am explaining this to warn that the maneuver to pit Carles Puigdemont and Oriol Junqueras against each other, which the Spanish government and its loyal media are trying to do now, has proven to be effective and that, therefore, it is necessary to tread with great care. It is equally true, though, that their intention could not be more obvious, which, in this case, does not help them.

Let’s be clear: the Spanish state is playing at pitting one against the other, exploiting the obvious lack of harmony between them and using the ill will that is being mutually fed by some sectors of both pro-independence parties. But Madrid is not doing this to favor one or the other, but only to defeat them both. And it is doing it with this proven formula, a formula that has been tried and tested for so many centuries.

In Catalonia the inclination towards sectarian partisanship always seems inevitable, but, precisely at a time like this, we must acknowledge that it has never reached the point of destroying the joint project for independence. And that is very important to emphasize now. Because I want to think and believe that this will continue to be so. After the great blow that this country struck against Mariano Rajoy and the 155 bloc, it would be unforgivable now if our politicians were not able to prioritize, above all else, the formation of a government that rises to the expectations of Catalonia. The government should oversee the confrontation with a State that has lost the elections, but which does not plan to lighten up on the pressure. Quite the opposite.

Everyone knows that reaching an agreement to govern is not an easy task. But we are all aware of the historic disaster that a failure to restore the legitimate government would mean after having accomplished the hardest part, after having been able to win the election. Living in a state of emergency as we do, it is logical and natural that negotiators are obliged to imagine many options, some of them even surprising. But it would be best, I ask, to do it discreetly and without giving into provocation —it is not necessary to post it on Twitter, but it is essential to share papers and negotiate. Some Madrid-based news outlets have long speculated on the idea of ​​a government headed by Junqueras, as a last resort to prevent the return of the legitimate government of Catalonia led by Carles Puigdemont. They, like Rome in the 4th century, do what they need to do: since they have not been able to defeat us at the polls, they are now trying to see if they can win by dividing us. But the trap is so obvious that we should easily avoid it.

Junqueras and Puigdemont do not have the right, today, to not understand each other. I am sorry to say this in such a categorical way, but I am sure that many readers share my sentiment, my position. And both of them, and their parties, know that this means that there are attitudes that must be avoided, such as giving credence and credibility to the Spanish government’s maneuvers or the self-serving leaks by a media at its service and at the service of this desperate strategy.

And it is quite clear that they can’t be so short-sighted as to use an obvious ruse like this to steal a few votes from those who are the last ones they should be stealing from, those with whom they will share a government and a project. Because Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, the CUP —and everyone else with them— are worth more when they are aware of one thing: after the investiture debate, in no way do we expect a calm four-year term but, more likely, the most decisive, perhaps definitive confrontation. And the strength of everyone coming together, represented by 2,079,340 votes, will be more necessary than ever. United. United. United.