Articles by Jordi Pujol
The port of Pireus. Or, a concept of Spain
May 16, 2012
The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz recently paid a visit to Barcelona. Among other interesting subjects, he explained to a large audience that China wants to buy Greece’s largest port, in Pireus. In fact, the Chinese are not buying the land itself, but all or most of the facilities, which they want to turn into a great trading post between China and Europe.
We are experiencing difficult times: don’t bury your head in the sand
May 08, 2012
This country and society is going through a critical time. Politically and economically. And socially, in terms of cohesion, identity and values. In the ambit of the European Union, the Spanish State and Catalonia.
The magnitude of the danger
April 25, 2012
This danger was foretold years ago. The danger that Spain seeks to definitively erase – or leave in a residual state and thus condemn – what Catalonia is and always has been: a country with its own personality, able to build, defend and project a society, culture and project. The danger is not new; for many centuries Spain by its very nature has been a dominant conception. It has been unable to impose its will by a predetermined force, above all thanks to Catalonia’s resistance to renounce her personality and her ability to create a dynamic and creative society in the economic and social field.
Don’t sacrifice the future
April 18, 2012
Don’t sacrifice the future. Don’t sacrifice future generations, or, to put it more poignantly, don’t sacrifice children or grandchildren.
Don’t sacrifice the future for instant success. Don’t sacrifice the generation of grandchildren for instant exuberance or for electoral success in the next four years either.
On immigration
April 11, 2012
Ever since the early twentieth century some sectors in Spain have believed that mass migration from outside Catalonia would solve the “the Catalan problem”. That Spanish migration would check the development of the Catalan political, cultural and social project.
Recent developments in the field of education
March 21, 2012
Some developments that in principle we may consider positive.
1. The first item of news concerns the priority that the Catalan ministry is giving to reading. As a teacher recently remarked, in the form of a couplet, the slogan must be “reading a lot and writing well, this is how to excel”.
Granted, the idea not new. French and German education – which together has a higher rating than ours — has always put an emphasis on reading and writing. We can also add the Swedish and Finnish systems, which are so much in vogue. However, we don’t emulate these enough.
The effort not to be small. Or simply to be
March 07, 2012
We are a small country. For our geography and resources. For our population and political influence. And for the pressure that is piled on us to make us even smaller. And so we accept we are small and we shrug it off.
It's not like this
February 29, 2012
The Catalan government’s main objective is to secure a fiscal agreement. That is, a new system of funding the Catalan autonomous government that will bring to an end the grave injusticeour country is enduring.This problem has been dragging on for many years. It has increasingly impeded our self-government and checked both economic and social progress. Whichthe economic downturn of the last few years has aggravated and compounded.
Germany. And Europe
February 22, 2012
We could have chosen another title for this editorial:“Germany’s problem”, or “Germany’s scandal”,or “Germany’s model”, or “Germany’s driving force”. Because in Europe Germany is all these things.
Catalonia is not viable (or she would be if...)
February 08, 2012
Catalonia faces an unavoidable issue. What perspectivedo we have as an economy, as an equitable society, as a cohesive country, with a capacity for integration, with a language and culture, that is, anIdentity?What perspective do we have?
