by Jaume Reixach / November, 25, 2020
Journalist by vocation and, for that very same reason, founder and editor of EL TRIANGLE since 1990. Militant for the cause for a better world
Thank you Jordi Amat, thank you Xavier Sardà
I come from an ancient and very long silence … The silence we have suffered, for years, all those who have faced and fought against corruption, manipulation and abuse of power by those who, with the name of Catalonia in their mouths, have turned this country into a shit pit, disgusting and infectious.
The very Catalonia, which, after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, could have been – yes – the Denmark of the South, is now an infamous and indecent place, gnawed and rotten. Cronyism, nepotism and influence peddling have infiltrated the ruling political class and destroyed our democratic institutions, starting with the Generalitat.
The then president, Jordi Pujol, uttered a lapidary phrase from the balcony of the palace in Plaça de Sant Jaume, when the Prosecutor’s Office requested his indictment for the bankruptcy of Banca Catalana (1984): “From now on, we will be the ones to talk about ethics and morals”. In this way, the mediatic ‘omertà’ and the impunity transformed Catalonia into a dangerous place, which they cynically called an “oasis”.
With justice gripped; with the Mossos d’Esquadra under the command of the political power; with the media bought, and with the opposition condemned to ostracism, the pujolismo imposed its law. This “white dictatorship”, visionaryly denounced by former president Josep Tarradellas in 1982, was established by Jordi Pujol, continued after Jordi Pujol and lasts today.
“The Banca Catalana affair is the Achilles heel of Catalonia”, the writer and essayist Jordi Amat has rightly stated. In his latest work, The Chauffeur’s Son, which exhumes the life of the abominable Alfons Quintà, the first director of TV3, Jordi Amat dedicates a few pages to explaining the incredible incidents and censures suffered by the process of publishing the book Banca Catalana: Más que un banco, más que una crisis, written 35 years ago by journalists Siscu Baiges, Enric González and myself.
The book The Chauffeur’s Son is being a great bestseller and, thanks to word of mouth, has become the publishing phenomenon of the season. Its publication has had a cathartic effect on Catalan society, which has suddenly opened its eyes, surprised, to the miseries and abuses that have been hidden from us for so many years. I have had the opportunity to warmly congratulate the author in the debate that we have shared on Ràdio 4, which has now become the “other” radio.
Last week, Xavier Sardà invited me to participate in the debate in his program ‘Obrim fil’, on TVE1, dedicated to the Volhov case. It is the first time that I have stepped on a large television set in Catalonia. Of course, TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio keep me on their “black list”, reduced to absolute invisibility.
I would like to dedicate these lines to thanking Jordi Amat and Xavier Sardà for breaking the sepulchral silence that surrounds my task and that of all the colleagues who have not resigned ourselves to contemplating and passively abiding by the degradation and hijacking of democracy in Catalonia. The light always conquers the darkness.
In this new day that is beginning – after decades of darkness – there are still shadows that must be fading. On the Mediapro website, an official statement has been published in which this audiovisual group – led by Jaume Roures and Tatxo Benet – admits that they paid bribes to get the broadcasting rights for the 2014, 2018 and 2022 soccer World Cups. This unusual confession is linked to the legal proceedings that are underway in a New York court on FIFAgate, the corruption scandal that has exposed the dirty business of the world of football.
If Catalonia were a normal country, after this confession, TV3, the public television, would immediately suspend its contractual relations with the group of Jaume Roures and Tatxo Benet. As EL TRIANGLE has explained in detail, Mediapro has sucked, since its founding in 1994, tens of millions of euros from TV3’s budgets and is used to maintaining an obscene relationship with many directors of this channel.
Something similar happens with Ferrovial, the company that paid bribes to CDC through the Palau de la Música, in exchange for the award of public works, as justice demonstrated and condemned. Despite this, Ferrovial continues to obtain contracts from the Generalitat, especially from the Health department, led by Alba Vergés (ERC).
We have broken the thick layer of ice that kept Catalonia mummified, but the disastrous inertia and vices of the past have not just gone away. We have to continue drilling, opening and cleaning.
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