Thursday 20 August 2009

Flimsier reporting

A few days ago, I wrote how foreign correspondents write newspaper articles devoid of any insight and sometimes accuracy when reporting on political developments.

Last Tuesday, the FT carries an article about Spain signed by Victor Mallet, who seems the be the only person who writes about Spanish politics in the FT. Newspaper AVUI provides a decent summary translation and gist of the article.

Here is the Letter to the Editor I sent to the FT. I doubt it will be published.

======

Dear Sir,

It is with despair that I read another article about Spanish politics by Mr Mallet in which he once again limits his sources to the Spanish nationalist side of the debate.

May I ask what knowledge or experience does Mr Mallet have of current Spanish politics whilst being the FT correspondent in Asia? In any case, despite or because of his experience as Madrid correspondent, I am afraid Mr Mallet does what he does best: recycling the usual protestations from the Spanish press like El Mundo, ABC, El Pais, etc, without providing any alternative viewpoint or ideological framework outside the Spanish-centric rhetoric he borrows from his [Spanish] friends in Madrid.

First, the alleged “high-cost of Spanish devolution”.

Funnily enough, there is never any mention of the cost of devolution in Germany or Belgium or Switzerland, each of which allows its Länders, “communities” or cantons far greater powers than Catalonia could ever have under the 1978 Spanish Constitution. Mr Mallet does not provide any source for this claim, let alone empirical data.


Then an often-repeated claim: “
The regions absorb about half of all public spending (…)leaving only about one-fifth of outgoings under the direct control of the centre”.

Well, since most services are delivered locally, by either local councils (ayuntamiento) or regional governments (CCAA) it is quite normal that 50% of expenditure is allocated to the administrations that actually deliver services to the public. If anything, I find quite astonishing that central government is plundering 20% the budget providing what services? Perhaps Mr Mallet should explore why central government has a series of bloated departments for powers that have been devolved to the local and regional administrations for two decades now. I think fiscal pressure on Spanish businesses and households could be lowered if they do away with central government duplication.

Mr Mallet then goes on quoting Mr Anson, a known right-wing Spanish nationalist. His tenure as the Editor of ABC and La Razón were marked by his aggressiveness profound antipathy towards anything Catalan. Then another source, this time from El Mundo newspaper.

The problem with Mr Mallet is that his sources are all one and the same: aggressive Spanish nationalism intent of suppressing Catalan or Basque culture and “assertiveness” in the name of a mythological Spanish unity that fails to recognise the right of self-determination for the people of Catalonia or the Basque Country and their ability to decide their own future without any interference. The same obsession that occupied Franco for 40 years.

Mr Mallet writes “Cultural separatism can be seen in the promotion of local languages in schools and other areas of public life, particularly in Catalonia.”.

Local languages are not promoted, they are used with normality by the public and the administration –whenever they are not banned as we have witnessed so often in Spanish history. Would Mr Mallet write that French is promoted in French schools? Of course not. French schools use French and Catalan schools use Catalan. It is what is normal. This of course, as Mr Mallet accurately points out, sparks heated protests from Spanish nationalists. At least they are not sending the tanks –not yet anyway, although I wonder what Mr Anson would think about it.

Next time the FT writes an article about Spanish politics, for the sake of completeness and good journalism, could someone please bother to travel to Barcelona or Bilbao and find out what the other side of the argument is? It is not much to ask.

=======================

Update Friday 21 August 2009:

Well, they did not publish my letter -too many spelling mistakes and bad grammar probably... but they published a brilliant reply by someone else.

Sir, Regarding your article about Spain (“Flimsier footings”, Analysis August 19), I write as economy and organisation deputy mayor from one of the most dynamic of Catalan cities that shares most of your points of view about growth, values, political accountability and competitiveness.

I could reply to your assessment of the political problem of Catalonia and our obsession with our language, political power and money, which is quite inaccurate to say the least. Instead, let me reply by saying that you are absolutely right: we are a real problem for Spain, and as we believe in competitiveness, productivity and a prosperous future in the way you do, I conclude that the best and only way for Spain, Catalonia and Europe to achieve a promising future and to contribute to the world economy is through our independence from Spain.

Thank you very much for such valuable insight.

Jordi Joly Lena,
Economy and
Organisation Deputy Mayor,

Sant Cugat del
Vallès,
Barcelona,
Spain

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would hardly categorise Mr Joly's response as "brilliant". In a world where integration is the driving force, what is the point of shrinking? Furthermore, if he believes Catalonia's business model is the right one, why doesn't he promote its implementation throughout Spain rather than supporting the simpler route ofparting ways?

Rab said...

Anon: Who says that having control of your own resources is shrinking? Shrinking from what exactly?

It would be much easier for Catalonia to integrate in the global economy without having to pay a toll to Madrid.
(fiscal deficit currently standing at 10-15% depending who you ask)

Catalonia has been trying to change Spain for the last 150 years and it has not worked.
Spain does not want to change, and that's fair enough.

I wish “parting ways” was the simpler route, it is definitely the right one though.

Anonymous said...

Rab:
Local languages are not promoted, they are used with normality by the public and the administration

The Catalan Government itself claims for the need to spread the use of the language through a variety of coercive and promoting mechanisms, justified by the insufficient presence of the Catalan language in the socio-economic sphere.

The wide range of activities includes obligations of private companies to use the Catalan language and financial aid to promotion measures.

Natalia said...

I totally agree with the comment left by an anonymous reader about Mr Joly's response. To my opinion it is not brilliant at all, and he only shows disdain to spanish people.

Regarding to devolving costs, it does not matter if it is more expensive or not in Germany or in Spain. What it is important is that Spain cannot afford it (it has never been a cost effective measure), and it is worst at the precise moment of facing a crises like this one.

I live in Galicia and I did not like the Galcian goverment nationalist politics. It is not the way they should take to make Galcia a more competitive region, nowadays we are involved in a global economy, and more intelligent an innovative solutions should be taken instead of spending huge amounts of money in non productive concepts (taking into account a global economy).

Rab said...

Anon 22/8 at 14:07:

What do you propose? To let the language die? I bet a few people would be delighted!

Catalan language and culture has been repressed one way or another since the Decrets de Nova Planta in 1715. Think of it as a corrective mechanism (positive discrimination?) trying to rebalance centuries of cultural obliteration, political repression and mass migration.

Since the measures adopted by the Catalan parliament are only opposed by one political group (Spanish nationalist of the PP and fringe Ciudadanos (about 15% combined), I think the linguistic policy adopted has the overwhelming support of the population –well except those who do not want to learn Catalan despite living in Catalonia.
If anything, many Catalans believe the measures so far adopted fall short of the standards set in for example Switzerland or Canada. Competitiveness does not seem to be a problem for them despite being multi-lingual societies.

Catalan consumers have the right to buy services in their language in their own country, and it is only proper that the government helps to redress the language imbalance caused by historical developments and mass migration. To oppose the development of Catalan in Catalonia is nothing more than narrow-minded political prejudice masquerading as business-friendly shallow multi-culturalism.

Rab said...

Natalia 22/08 at 14:45h

Could you elaborate how Mr Joly’s response shows disdain to Spanish people?
Mr Joly’s advocates an amicable divorce so that each part can rebuild their lifes without the existence of the other making the relationship unworkable. It seems quite civil to me. The alternative is forced marriage, which we know is not good for the children as they see their parents resent one another and leaves a legacy of a traumatic chilhood.

I agree Spain cannot afford it such a bloated public sector.
I am in favour of abolishing Ministerios of any devolved issue that has been fully transferred to the CCAA.
I am also up for an analysis of how many civil servants each CCAA employ per habitant and taking into account what devolved powers each CCAA has. You might be surprised what you find out.

I don’t know that you mean by “more intelligent and innovative solutions should be taken instead of spending huge amounts of money in non-productive concepts”.


If you could elaborate on the solutions side, I am sure many business development agencies around the world would be grateful for your insight.

AS for non-productive concepts, what about F1 racing? (90m euros)

Tom said...

(1) "In a world where integration is the driving force, what is the point of shrinking?" - I challenge both the opening statement (what does it even mean?) and the leading question. Would Catalonia 'shrink' if it became independent? Would it no longer integrate with the world?

(2) Language is not an issue for anyone but a bunch of idiots living in Valladolid and a couple of racist Germans and Brits I've met who would adopt a 'anything but Catalan' language policy while living in Catalonia.

(3) Why do people insist on anonymity? I might be prejudiced but in a purely stylistic way it does seem to have a negative effect on the quality of an argument.

Javier said...

Rab said...
What do you propose? To let the language die? I bet a few people would be delighted!
Catalan language and culture has been repressed one way or another since the Decrets de Nova Planta in 1715. Think of it as a corrective mechanism (positive discrimination?) trying to rebalance centuries of cultural obliteration, political repression and mass migration.


I was not proposing anything, just saying that there has been and there is an intense promotional action of the Catalan language, as opposed to your words “Local languages are not promoted”.


Regarding the “corrective mechanism”, I think repressive measures used against Catalan language in the past does not justify present repression the other way round. Remember that nowadays there are civil rights and freedom, separate –and even in opposition- to what a majority could decide in a parliament. Specially concerning the use of languages in private life and by private companies operating in a free trade area.



That's why it is not so easy to find the right balance in adopting a policy of positive discrimination in any field. The question is what scope could there be for the so-called linguistic normalisation in a bilingual society with two official languages.

Just a few doubtful examples: compulsory labelling of products in Catalan, mandatory use of Catalan in shop signs, Al pati parlem en català, Catalan quota for subtitled or dubbed films to be implemented by film distribution companies, Catalan language requirement for University Teaching and Research.



As you mention 1715, that's exactly the danger of historical revenge, a process of social engineering to return to a certain situation in the remote past, the lost paradise. This is actually what extreme nationalism is about, creating the New Man according to their romantic view of History.

But such restoration of History cannot be done easily while observing basic individual rights in a modern democracy. Why do we have to trace back in History to 1715 and not to the Islamic domination of the Iberian Peninsula some centuries before, as Al Qaeda claims? Same legitimacy can be given. Same territory.



Besides, we are in 2009. Politics, values, transportation infrastructures, public education, Internet, and many other factors influence social relationships and the linguistic atmosphere. Everything is different for the vitality of a language even with other facts of Catalan history.


Focusing on collectivism, on the languages or the people (in the sense of Volk) as a subject of rights, and the subsequent claim of restoring a certain previous historical situation -even at the expense of individual rights- is a dangerous ideology that clashes with modern conceptions of freedom and democracy standards.

Alex in QC said...

Catalunya would likely do better on its own than inside Spain. It makes no sense for Catalunya to transfer such ridiculous amounts of money to backwaters like Extremadura or Murcia.

Javier said...

Alex in QC said...
Catalunya would likely do better on its own than inside Spain. It makes no sense for Catalunya to transfer such ridiculous amounts of money to backwaters like Extremadura or Murcia.

Paris transfers money to the south, New York to Arkansas, London to the east and so on. Such a linear analysis does not take into consideration the accumulation effect related to the centralization of corporate headquarters and the influence of big cities as a center for its market. New York brings together such economic power because it belongs to a big political entity and a big market, the USA.

Madrid transfers a great amount of money to other places in Spain, and this has much to do with this very same matter, rather than showing an evidence of a virtual nation called Madrid being abused by the rest of Spain.

Rab said...

Javier,

The Catalan government is creating the conditions to enable Catalan language to be used with normality by the public. Probably this is what annoys Spanish nationalists: the fact that there is a political will in Catalonia to see legal and social equivalence between the two languages.

Your second paragraph again starts from a false premise. These are not repressive measures against Spanish in Catalonia and the PP in Catalonia says as much so you are once again being either naïve or worse. What is repressive for example is the banning of Catalan TV in Valencia but I guess that is not a concern of yours.

So to claim that there is “repression the other way round” is a blatant lie since Spanish is a co-official language in Catalonia and TV, radios, newspapers operate in Spanish. There are hundreds of thousands of people living in Catalonia with no command of Catalan, either through lack of opportunity (dictatorship) or lack of interest or prejudice.

This was not the case with Catalan language not so long ago. This false equivalence you are arguing exists only in the minds of Spanish nationalists intent of ensuring that Catalan remains a subordinated language.

The only repressive and coercive measure in Spanish law is set out in the Spanish Constitution that states categorically that all Spaniards have the obligation to know Spanish. Is this not an infringement on civil or individual rights?

[cont…]

Rab said...

Your examples are the usual raft of protestations and lies from the usual suspects and can be easily dismissed as the resentment of people whose cultural prejudice runs very deep. One by one:

+ Compulsory labelling of products in Catalan: this is a lie since there is no such law and if you go to any supermarket I bet you will not find more than 25% of products labelled in Catalan (and Spanish). The vast majority of produce is labelled in any other language except Catalan. In any case, I agree there should be such a law as a consumer protection measure to guarantee the rights of Catalan consumers.

+ Mandatory use of Catalan in shop signs: again another manipulation. The law states that signs for new shops have to be “at least in Catalan”, for which the local council will pay to cover the costs of translation into the local language. I have seen signs in 3 or 4 languages. No cost for the business-owner for the Catalan translation. This again is a consumer protection measure which is normal in many other European states and guarantees the rights of Catalan consumers.

+ “Al pati parlem catala”: a campaign aiming to encourage the use of Catalan in the playground which has the objective of facilitating the integration of the children of immigrants. Perhaps you are in favour of separate schools based on language but in Catalonia people are very proud of their social cohesion and want to keep it that way.

+ Catalan quota for films: again another lie (it is not law but a proposed bill). But I agree that it should be implemented as a consumer protection measure. Less than 5% of films distributed in Catalonia are dubbed or subtitled in Catalan, despite the government covering most of the cost for a translation. If you are a supporter of bilingualism, are you not in favour of measures to promote languages? Or is it the case the bilingualism is only good when it involves Catalan-speakers switching to Spanish when ordering at a restaurant, going to the cinema or taking a taxi?
If there was true bilingualism, at least 50% of films would be in Catalan but I guess you are not concerned about that.

+ Catalan language requirement for University: again another lie. Most University posts are exempt for a start (I know a Spanish couple from Sevilla who are both University researchers and neither of them has the intention to learn Catalan, such is their prejudice) and visiting professors are excluded. Subjects where the vehicular language is English (or another language) are excluded. But for a position in which the lecturer has to teach students it is quite normal and a statement of the bleeding obvious that a lecturer working at a Catalan university teaching a subject to Catalan students has to have a minimum command of Catalan language. Exactly the same as someone working at a University in Madrid (Rome) teaching to Spanish-speaking (Italian) students has to have a minimum command of Spanish (Italian).

So there you have it, each one of your examples demolished for what they are: rubbish like much of what is written in ABC, El Mundo, et al.

[cont...]

Rab said...

This is the crux of the matter: Are you in favour of adding Catalan and Basque to the article in the Spanish Constitution on what languages are mandatory? or are you in favour of dropping it altogether? Are you in favour of the status quo? Or are you in favour of complete legal and social equivalence of the two languages?

Your interpretation of 1715 is quite bizarre, and once again it avoids dealing with the dynamics of Spanish and Catalan nationalism. Catalans do not mention 1715 for historical revenge but for historical justice. The Decretos de Nueva Planta was the start of political and cultural oppression in Catalonia (as a revenge for the war) and very little has changed since then in terms of the big picture: Spain stills wants to assimilate Catalonia. Catalonia wants to reassert itself. I think the former is much more aggressive than the latter as history has sadly evidenced more than once.

You, and many others, argue about individual rights. What are these rights? And who decides who these rights apply to? What about the individual right to be able to vote in an independence referendum? Why is that right prohibited?

Your argument about social engineering is again a naive in the extreme. Every single administration in the world engages in social engineering. It is called politics.

Spain has been engaged in social engineering for centuries trying to change the political, cultural and economic make-up of Catalonia and it still does to this day with the current legal and economic framework. Or is it not social engineering to punish Catalonia with a fiscal deficit between 10-15%? Or is not social engineering to prevent the development of Catalan so that it has an equal legal status with Spanish? Is it not social engineering the mass migration of the 50s and 60s? And what about the inability of the Spanish state to achieve official status for Catalan in the European Parliament? Irish Gaelic with a fraction of speakers is official, yet Catalan is not. Is it not the prohibition of TV3 in Valencia an example of social engineering? Or the refusal of the Valencian government to abide by the numerous legal sentences (or the academic consensus) that grant legal equivalence between Valencian and Catalan language university degrees? That my friend is social engineering, and the refusal of the Spanish government to do anything about it is also social engineering.

This is how the fallacy of "bilingualism is good" falls when most Spaniards are tested. For most people in Spain, in particular monolingual Spanish speakers living in Catalonia, bilingualism means: "speak my language so that I don't have to learn yours". This is why there are thousands of mono-lingual speakers of Spanish in Catalonia, yet everybody that speaks Catalan also speaks Spanish. This asymmetry, caused by many factors, is what the Catalan administration wants to correct -and quite rightly so. We all deserve the chance to be bilingual or even better trilingual.

Your last paragraph again exemplifies how flawed logic follows a false premise.
What clashes with modern conceptions of democracy standards and freedom is the dogmatic obsession of Spanish nationalism against Catalan culture and political identity. That has proven to be a much more dangerous ideology than any attempt on the part of Catalonia to reclaim some dignity and self-respect. I refer you to the history books.

Javier said...

Rab said...
What is repressive for example is the banning of Catalan TV in Valencia but I guess that is not a concern of yours.

I agree this banning is nonsense and should be easily fixed on the basis of mutual broadcasting in each other's territory. Simple reciprocity. But there is a political reason not related to the language at all, since the language of their Tvs is the same, as far as I know. It looks, in terms of language issues, as if Colombia has banned Venezuelan TV to avoid the spread of Chavez's socialism in its territory.


Rab said...
The only repressive and coercive measure in Spanish law is set out in the Spanish Constitution that states categorically that all Spaniards have the obligation to know Spanish. Is this not an infringement on civil or individual rights?

It depends on social circumstances. By the time the Constitution was adopted, the Spanish language was spoken -even as their second language by some minorities- by the 99,99% of the people inside the country. So I can't see what civil rights may have been breached.


Rab said...
This is the crux of the matter: Are you in favour of adding Catalan and Basque to the article in the Spanish Constitution on what languages are mandatory? or are you in favour of dropping it altogether? Are you in favour of the status quo? Or are you in favour of complete legal and social equivalence of the two languages?

I'm not in favour of legal bilingualism. According to my view, having an official language, if necessary, is a proclamation just for practical reasons, a language to be used as a common means of communication. If there are more than one, then it doesn't fit with the idea of “common means”. So, for me, the problem is which one to choose as the official language, causing as little trouble as possible to the least people possible, and also, and very important, to increase the opportunities to communicate with more people as much as possible .

Which one to choose? Could it be the predominant native language, the easier to learn, the most widely spoken in the world? The reality is that it depends on the social circumstances, political aspiration, degree of consensus, etc. But in my opinion, and while Basque and Catalan governments are at carrying out such intense social engineering, I'd opt for an ambitious solution and would increase the use of English in order to become official, not only in Spain but in the whole European Union, eliminating the recognition as official languages for all the others.

Alex in QC said...

Javier:

Your assertion that a city needs to belong to a large national market in order to be successful and prosperous is profoundly wrong. Why couldn't Barcelona be as prosperous if it were not in Spain? Have you ever heard of this thing called the European Union? It's a fairly large market, right?

I understand that fiscal federalism is practiced in many countries, but it doesn't necessarily mean that wealthy regions who transfer money to poor regions are getting a good deal. Catalunya is not getting a good deal in Spain. Extremadura and Murcia are getting a great deal; they get to underperform, to be poor and to get Catalans to pay (at least partially) for their public services.

And I never said that what makes Catalunya a nation are its ridiculous fiscal transfers to poorer region of Spain. What makes Catalunya a sociological nation is its culture, its language and its history. Nationhood has nothing to do with economics.

Rab said...

Javier,

Canal 9 can be watched in many areas in Catalonia (and Balearics) Reciprocity has been offered but refused by the PP. When the “bilingualism is good” lobby starts targeting the Valencian government of the PP, you will all gain more credibility.

“It depends on social circumstances. By the time the Constitution was adopted, the Spanish language was spoken -even as their second language by some minorities- by the 99,99% of the people inside the country. So I can't see what civil rights may have been breached.”
Amazing. So it is alright if the “social engineering” of a 40-year Fascist dictatorship had resulted in 99% of the population being forced to learn Spanish. And since they already are fluent in the language, no civil rights are infringed. This is akin to what some Arab countries do with “loose” women who have been raped: since she’s been raped once, she can be raped many times, she’s got nothing to lose. Brilliant exercise of self-justification.

Your last paragraph takes the biscuit.
You go on an on about social engineering by the Catalan government but the article in the Constitution is alright and apparently not social engineering. Then your true authoritarian instincts are revealed: you not only want to force Spanish onto the Catalans and Basques, but also English to the French and Germans?
Las mañanas de la Cope in English would just not be the same!
What a stupid idea.

You are partly right though: ” Could it be the predominant native language...”
Exactly right. The native language like they have done in Belgium, Canada or Switzerland.
Most Flemish people speak French (and English), the Quebecois all speak English, and many Swiss speak one of the other official 4 languages.
Notice that not many Wallons speak Flemish and not many Canadians speak French though. I wonder what would happen in Spain with the current lot of monolingual speakers... Oh no, they will be fluent in English obviously!
Hilarious.

Seriously now, these are all highly developed economies where the native, traditional language is given the full official status in each territory. That is the way forward for Spain too.

You see, in the end it is not that difficult.