Catalunya és l'altre?

Resum

In this study entitled El rostro del otro (The Face of The Other), Xavier Antich deals with the relationship that the modern world has established with the other: the fusion (suppression of the other) and the juxtaposition (indifference towards the other). None of these two forms renders communication possible. Knowing that the relationship between Spain and Catalonia often wavers between fusion and juxtaposition, the author of the present article searches for the reasons behind an anti-Catalan campaign that has prompted a rise in the number of voters that have given support to the Partido Popular (or People's Party) and that has united journalists, writers and media with different political agendas. The general lack of knowledge on the part of the Spanish public opinion about the situation of language and culture in Catalonia, encouraged by certain journalistic and intellectual cliques in Madrid, has caused the above-mentioned increase in votes. Even the Spanish State, which according to article 149 of the Spanish Constitution should facilitate intercultural communication among Autonomous Communities, has not taken advantage of all its resources to make this intercommunication possible. The similarity between the present lack of understanding vis-à-vis Catalonia and that which already existed before the Spanish Civil War seems to indicate that the democratic system has been accepted with no changes in the ways of thinking about the territorial structuring of the Spanish State. In spite of this, Catalonia is going through a long and productive period of self-rule and Catalanism has left an imprint on most of its institutions. It will not be possible to eradicate the ignorance and prejudice generated by anti-Catalan feelings without a profound change in the contents of schooling programs and without a conscious attitude on the part of the media to encourage the understanding of other cultures within the Spanish State.