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La Generalitat De Catalunya a L'exili (1939-1948)1

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La Generalitat De Catalunya a L'exili (1939-1948)1 12 MERCE MORALES.qxp:— 21/4/10 06:55 Pgina 213 Butlletí de la Societat Catalana d’Estudis Històrics Núm. XIX (2008), p. 213-224 DOI: 10.2436/20.1001.01.36 LA GENERALITAT DE CATALUNYA A L’EXILI (1939-1948) 1 MERCÈ MORALES Societat Catalana d’Estudis Històrics RESUM L’article presenta una breu síntesi de la tesi doctoral , alguns aspectes metodològics i les principals conclusions . L’objectiu de la tesi consisteix a avaluar el paper que havia tingut la Generalitat de Catalunya en la història de l’oposició antifranquista els anys quaranta . La hipò - tesi de treball se sustentava en les nombroses i reiterades al·lusions a la institució per part de les diferents organitzacions polítiques catalanes durant el període, fins a esdevenir un dels principals eixos del debat polític, si bé generalment se li havia atorgat un paper gairebé mar - ginal . Alhora, s’ha reconstruït la història de la institució en els anys esmentats, necessària per assolir l’objectiu del treball, a causa de les escasses informacions bibliogràfiques precedents. Així mateix, presenta noves informacions sobre l’oposició a l’exili i a l’interior els anys qua - ranta ; sobre les relacions polítiques amb els governs basc i espanyol a l’exili, i en l’àmbit polí - tic internacional. PARAULES CLAU Exili, Generalitat, Estatut, autodeterminació, franquisme, República, monarquia, socia - lisme, democràcies occidentals. The Catalan Autonomous Government (Generalitat of Catalonia) in exile (1939-1948) ABSTRACT This article offers a brief synthesis of the doctoral dissertation, as well as some methodo - logical aspects, and its main conclusions. The goal of the dissertation is to assess the role that the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Autonomous Government) played in the history of the anti-Franco opposition in the 1940’s. The hypothesis of the paper was supported by the nu - merous and repeated references to this institution by the various Catalan political organi- zations in that period of time, to the point of becoming one of the main centrepieces of the po - litical debate. At the same time, the history of this institution during the aforementioned years has been reconstructed, something which was necessary in order to attain the paper’s goal 1. La tesi doctoral que es presenta va ser llegida a la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, l’abril de 2008. Ha estat dirigida pel doctor Jaume Sobrequés i Callicó, catedràtic de l’esmentada Universitat, i van formar part del tribunal el doctor Borja de Riquer i el doctor Josep M. Solé i Sabaté, per la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; el doctor Josep Fontana, per la Universitat Pompeu Fabra; el doctor Paul Pres - ton, per la Luton School of Economics of London, i el doctor Joseba Agirreazkuenaga, per la Universitat del País Basc. Va obtenir la màxima qualificació, excel·lent cum laude . 12 MERCE MORALES.qxp:— 21/4/10 06:55 Pgina 214 214 MERCÈ MORALES and because of the scanty previous bibliographical data. It also offers new details about the opposition both in exile and inland in the 1940’s; about the political relations with the Basque and the Spanish governments in exile; and within the scope of international politics. KEY WORDS Exile, Generalitat, Estatut, self-determination, Franco regime, Republic, Monarchy, socia - lism, western democracies. La Generalitat de Catalunya a l’exili (1939-1948) ha pretès omplir un buit his - toriogràfic: la inexistència d’un estudi monogràfic dedicat a la Generalitat de Catalu - nya a l’exili des de la historiografia. L’objectiu primer de la investigació era avaluar quin havia estat el paper real de la Generalitat, la seva incidència en la història de l’oposició antifranquista i contextualitzar-la correctament. En una bona part de la bi - bliografia publicada apareixia minimitzada, relegada a un paper marginal, i amb tendència a presentar els aspectes més polèmics . En qualsevol cas, amb molts silen - cis sobre la presidència de Josep Irla . Per contra, en les fonts primàries, les referèn - cies a la institució per part de les diferents organitzacions polítiques eren reiteratives al llarg de tot el període . La hipòtesi primera de la investigació es va formular, doncs, sobre una contradicció i en va generar, alhora, una segona: la mateixa re - construcció històrica . Era necessari reconstruir els esdeveniments que, aparentment, havien provocat que la institució de govern catalana hagués desaparegut de la pri - mera línia de l’escena política bé després de la Guerra Civil , bé després de la mort de Lluís Companys l’octubre de 1940 . La reconstrucció obligava ensems a elaborar una periodificació raonada que aclarís les dinàmiques polítiques internes i els ele - ments diferencials que es produïen de manera simultània en els diferents àmbits es - pacials en els quals operava l’oposició . La tesi partia, doncs, tant des del buit historiogràfic en alguns aspectes, com d’uns enunciats generals dels quals , amb algunes excepcions, mancava explicar amb profunditat els processos polítics que en van ser la causa. El punt inicial de partida va ser l’exili de les institucions de govern el febrer de 1939 i el punt final, la dissolució del primer i únic govern de la Generalitat exiliada, el gener de 1948. A partir d’aquell any, la Generalitat restaria representada en la figura del seu presi - dent . A mesura que la investigació avançava, els resultats obtinguts van ser més elo - qüents sobre la significació política de la institució, fins a venir a demostrar que va tenir un paper de primer ordre, per afinitat o per oposició, en la història antifran - quista dels anys quaranta. La Generalitat de Catalunya va esdevenir un dels princi - pals epicentres del debat polític entre les organitzacions polítiques catalanes —per a algunes, el primer — durant aquest període; debat que va girar entorn a una qüestió: la funció que havien d’acomplir les institucions de govern en la direcció de l’opo- 12 MERCE MORALES.qxp:— 21/4/10 06:55 Pgina 215 215 LA GENERALITAT DE CATALUNYA A L’EXILI (1939-1948) sició i en la futura Transició democràtica a Catalunya. Les forces polítiques i sindicals catalanes no es van posar mai d’acord. La Generalitat esdevindria , així , un dels eixos al voltant dels quals es manifestarien actituds , estratègies i propostes polítiques distin - tes; tendències i dinàmiques que són la clau per comprendre les relacions polítiques entre les diferents organitzacions antifranquistes al llarg del període. Des del punt de vista conceptual i metodològic, la investigació es va enfocar des d’una perspectiva més àmplia que l’emprada en els estudis de l’exili polític , res - tringits a l’àmbit estrictament català i, encara més , a les relacions polítiques entre les organitzacions nacionalistes, que deixaven de banda , sovint , els partits, sindi - cats i moviments obreristes. A l’inici de la investigació ho considerava fonamental, entre altres raons, perquè havien format part del govern de la Generalitat a l’exili. Més endavant, la mateixa investigació les situaria en un paper principal i, en el cas del socialisme català, gairebé desconegut. També vaig considerar necessari contex - tualitzar i connectar la política catalana amb la basca i l’espanyola, amb el principal objectiu de donar a conèixer les seves relacions i avaluar la influència política mú - tua. Les relacions polítiques bascocatalanes a l’exili havien estat les úniques que la historiografia ha intentat reconstruir, però només durant el període de la Segona Guerra Mundial, i les relacions polítiques catalanoespanyoles no havien estat mai explorades, cosa que aïllava la política catalana de la resta de l’oposició antifran - quista. M’impel·lia a incorporar-les tant el fet que no se’n sabés res, com els pa - ral·lelismes que presentaven en alguns aspectes la política catalana i l’espanyola pel que feia a les seves institucions de govern. D’altra banda , la perspectiva àmplia que volia imprimir al treball implicava in - corporar un sector que no havia estat integrat en aquests estudis, el de l’oposició monàrquica. L’objectiu era el mateix : investigar quines havien estat les relacions amb aquests grups. Amb el mateix criteri, he prestat especial atenció al desenvolu - pament de la política internacional i a les actituds adoptades pels diferents governs respecte a l’oposició i a la dictadura. La finalitat ha estat avaluar la seva influència dins la política catalana d’aquests anys . No va ser fàcil, des del punt de vista metodològic, estructurar la tesi ni organit - zar-ne els capítols . Els escenaris són diversos (Catalunya, França, Anglaterra, Mèxic, Nova York, l’Argentina, entre d’altres ) i les organitzacions i plataformes antifranquis - tes , múltiples . El fet d’haver incorporat les relacions amb la política basca, espanyola i aspectes relacionats amb la internacional, encara va fer més complexa i extensa la redacció . Tot i així, vaig intentar dotar-la d’una continuïtat tant temàtica com , òbv ia- ment , cronològica , que permetés anar resseguint els esdeveniments d’una manera coherent i llegidora . La tesi es va estructurar en dos blocs diferenciats: de la fi de la Guerra Civil a l’alliberament de França pels aliats (1939-1944) i de la fi de la Sego- na Guerra Mundial a la Guerra Freda (1945-1948). Cada bloc es divideix en diferents capítols temàtics. 12 MERCE MORALES.qxp:— 21/4/10 06:55 Pgina 216 216 MERCÈ MORALES ESTAT DE LA QÜESTIÓ La consulta exhaustiva de la bibliografia existent, acompanyada de l’elabora- ció d’una base de dades, sintètica, amb cada una de les obres i articles consultats, m’ha permès racionalitzar un univers bibliogràfic atomitzat, tant pels temes tractats com pel perfil de l’autor —cada exiliat podria escriure un llibre. Sobre l’exili exis - teix una àmplia bibliografia, especialment abundant sobre l’exili social i cultural, però, en comparació, és escassa pel que fa a l’exili polític català .
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