Josep Miró i Ardèvol – Barcelona – 15/04/2020
Conversations in Catalonia seeks to favor the configuration of a large central space in Catalan politics.
To address our reality we must assume that we are dealing with problems of a historical dimension, overcome only by the Civil War, that our generations have experienced.
I will place a figure to frame the magnitude of the tragedy. May be I am wrong but I estimate that as from December 31st, 70 to 80 thousand people will have died from Covid-19, and about 40 thousand more exceeding mortality rates due to other causes that, due to the collapse, could not have been well attended.
Very serious things have happened, and they are not over. I list some to exemplify the need for reflection and response:
• Misunderstanding of government responses, which have led us to be the country with the most deaths in the world in terms of population, surpassing Italian. Spain: 15% of worldwide mortality, with less than 1% of the population. Catalonia clearly surpasses Spain. Here is all the necessary reflection on efficiency and effectiveness, and in the background, on the archetypal virtues that those we choose to govern should gather.
• The failure of the system in the case of the elderly has been tragic, for nursing homes especially, but also for the people who lived in their homes. The above reflection, plus two others, also applies here. One, very functional, that forces to reflect on the model of nursing homes. Another, deeper, about the family, housing, and the role of the elderly in our society.
• The document of the Emergency Service of Catalonia giving instructions on who to provide and who should not use respirators based on age (75 years) and the argument to use to avoid moving the elderly to hospitals, has been a shame the international media have echoed. The reflection here is on who decides on people’s lives, on behalf of whom and what, and beyond that, on our axiology of the value of human life.
The conversion of the alarm state into an exception state, and the inoperability of parliaments, is a warning. The temptation of Caesarism or democratic leadership is clear. A head of government speaking on behalf of the whole nation, it has been assumed by the masses normally, when it is a democratic aberration, because it represents only the government. The full representations are from the Congress and the Head of State. Democracy, it already suffered, will suffer more now. It is not enough to go to Congress every 15 days to request an extension, while at the same time maintaining paralysis in government control in Congress and in Parliament. Once again the presidents of both institutions have manifested themselves more as party people, rather than as the institutional authority they represent.
• Confinement and social conditions has nothing to do, if you live them without special financial anguish in your own home, that living them without income in a rented room, or with a whole family of 4 people in 40 square meters.
• The government of Catalonia accumulates mistakes, generates bewilderment, exacerbates the conflict; it uses tragedy for his politics of confrontation and provokes a daily conflict with the Spanish government. However, it remains to be explained why the death rate is so high in Catalonia, in the Conca d’Odena region, in the homes of the elderly (about 25% of all Spanish elderly live in these centers). And we should ask ourselves why so far one of the Montblanc bridges has not been rebuilt … by the Army pontooners. The effectiveness of Torra government is in the antipodes of the Basque government, which, despite the initial explosion and the great focus of Vitória city, have ended up gaining control, at least in comparative terms.
The availability of respirators and the massive use of testing have to do with it. Why, in one case, have they had access to such media, and a country like Catalonia so focused on export and with so many international relations as Catalonia has been late and bad?
The economic crisis can be monumental, with a reduction in GDP of between 8 and 10 points according to different estimates, and many companies, especially small ones, are destroyed and unemployment can reach 15%. However, there are other assessments such as those of Minister Escrivá, who considers that the whole problem will be perfectly manageable. Are we facing a historic downturn or a short passing period?
• Apart from all that, a policy that continues to be driven by very, very partisan criteria. I have serious doubts that the current parties, with a few exceptions, are sure to be able to lead us on the right track, without an extraordinary reaction from civil society, prioritizing, systematizing demands and, above all, regenerating political practice.
We can only face the future if civil society is better organized and moves beyond partisanship. A society that shows solidarity, initiative, creativity, discipline must be organized to regenerate politics. If we do not do this, we will hardly succeed in this historical tragedy.
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