The Ebro in Aragonesismo and Aragonese Nationalism
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Northumbria Research Link THE EBRO IN ARAGONESISMO AND ARAGONESE NATIONALISM BRENDA REED PhD NOVEMBER 2010 NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES MODERN LANGUAGES DIVISION PhD DISSERTATION THE EBRO IN ARAGONESISMO AND ARAGONESE NATIONALISM BRENDA REED Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Northumbria University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy SUBMISSION DATE: NOVEMBER 2010 ABSTRACT Since the 1970s Aragon has been at the centre of heated controversies over central government proposals to transfer water from the Ebro to Spain’s Mediterranean coastal regions and the scene of numerous mass demonstrations in opposition to these. Throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries the Ebro has been used and perceived by Aragonese regionalism, nationalism and aragonesismo in a variety of ways. This gives rise to the possibility that opposition to the transfer of water from the Ebro goes beyond purely economic and environmental considerations and evokes deeper nationalistic aspects which see it as an essential element of Aragonese identity, patrimonial wealth and natural national heritage. The Ebro had a prominent place in the thinking of the early twentieth century nationalist group as a life-giver and father figure of Aragonese identity and a symbol of territory, homeland, regional development and patrimonial wealth. Later defence of the Ebro against proposed water transfers has been used by Aragonese territorial parties to raise key aragonesista and nationalist issues, increase national awareness and assist in nation-building. The thesis shows how it has become inextricably interwoven with aspects such as identity, myths, symbols, heritage, collective memory and future economic prosperity and how threats to it, in the form of proposed water transfers, are used to stir up feelings of a ‘nationalistic’ nature, create a sense of grievance and injustice and make it a powerful ‘rallying symbol’, ‘crowd symbol’ and a ‘symbol of unity’. However, the analysis reveals many different derivations, contradictions, differences and paradoxes in how it is viewed in different periods and by different aragonesista and nationalist groups which detract from it reaching its full symbolic potential. To date, there have been no specific studies of the importance of the Ebro in aragonesismo and Aragonese nationalism. This thesis will contribute to knowledge on this aspect as well as to debates on sub-state nationalisms and the role of landscape and natural elements in nationalism and national identity. i TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract i Table of Contents ii Preface iii Acknowledgements v Declaration Page vi List of Abbreviations vii Chronological Table viii Glossary of Spanish Words xii Chapter 1 – Introduction 1 Chapter 2 – Some Theoretical Concepts * 37 Chapter 3 – Origins of Aragonese Nationalism and its 67 Differences from Aragonesismo Chapter 4 – The Use of the Ebro by Aragon’s Early Nationalist 85 Formation Chapter 5 – How the Ebro was Viewed During the Franco 114 Dictatorship and by 1970s and Early 1980s Aragonesista Formations Chapter 6 – Use of the Ebro by Present Day Aragonesista and 150 Nationalist Parties: PAR Chapter 7 – Use of the Ebro by Present Day Aragonesista and 180 Nationalist Parties: CHA Chapter 8 – Conclusions: Has the Ebro Been Used to its Full 220 Symbolic Potential? Appendices 248 References 278 * Part of this chapter was included in an article published in El Ebro (Brenda Reed, ‘Algo más que un río? El simbolismo del Ebro’, El Ebro, No. 6, (2006), pp. 139-159). ii PREFACE My interest in the topic of drought and water policy in Spain arose out of my studies of the Spanish language, the milestones of which coincided with major events in relation to Spanish water policy legislation. In the mid 1990s, as an A-Level project, I studied the severe drought affecting Spain, its interregional water conflicts and the Socialist Government’s Draft Plan Hidrológico Nacional 1993 (PHN, 1993). This was aimed at redressing the country’s hydrological imbalance by the construction of 272 dams and 13 interregional water-transfer schemes diverting vast quantities of water from the rivers of the north and interior by means of to the Mediterranean regions. Included in this Plan was the transfer of 1,275 cubic hectometres (hm3) of water per year from the Ebro. My interest in aragonesismo and Aragonese Nationalism developed in 2000 while working on a Masters Degree dissertation.1 This analysed the conflict of interests arising from the Partido Popular (PP) government’s proposals to implement its national water plan, Plan Hidrológico Nacional 2000 (PHN, 2000). In a state made up of 17 autonomous regions there was a growing tendency by these regions to promote their own interests and seek greater control of their community’s resources. In the post-Franco period Aragon saw the emergence or re-emergence of two regionalist/nationalist parties, the Partido Aragonés (PAR) and the Chunta Aragonesista (CHA), which made possible the introduction of a range of territorial and nationalist tenets into the water equation.2 The proposed PHN, 2000 caused a heated dispute between Aragon and the Spanish government. The most controversial element of the Plan was the proposal to transfer 1050 hm3 of water from the Ebro to the coastal regions of Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia. The proposal met with strong opposition in Aragon with no fewer than 12 1 In a political sense, aragonesismo can be defined as a concept that gives priority to Aragonese territorial interests and explicit recognition of self-government. In a cultural sense it is an affirmation of national distinctiveness and a desire to preserve a unique identity, history, language and culture. Whilst all nationalists are aragonesistas it is possible to be an aragonesista without being a nationalist. Moreover aragonesista issues are defended by many who do not belong to or vote for one of Aragon’s territorial political parties. This will be discussed in greater depth in section Definition of Terminology. 2 Brenda Reed, ‘An Analysis of the Conflict of Interests arising from Proposals to Implement a State-wide Development Project within the Context of Regional Autonomy and New Nation- building in a Non-historical Community. The Case of Aragon and the Plan Hidrológico Nacional’, (Unpublished Master’s dissertation, Northumbria University 2002). iii mass demonstrations between 2000 and 2004 bringing up to fifty percent of its population on to the streets at any one time. This was not the first instance of opposition to the transfer of water from the Ebro. There were antecedents in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, together with numerous examples of the Ebro and water policy ‘fuelling’ the reactive side of aragonesismo and Aragonese nationalism. From the early part of the twentieth century, this reactive aspect played an important role in nationalist myths, symbolism and visions of Aragon’s future. My doctoral research programme began in 2003, in a period characterised by mass demonstrations and heightened emotions around water and the Ebro in Aragon. That year was one of electoral ascendancy for the nationalist party CHA, rising from 5 to 9 seats in the Regional Parliament in the 2003 elections. Having gained a representative in Madrid, J. A. Labordeta two years earlier, its vote in General Elections rose from 3,157 votes in 1989 to 94,252 in 2004. This highly volatile atmosphere was defused somewhat by the defeat of Spain’s PP government in 2004 and the shelving of the proposed Ebro transfer by the incoming PSOE government of Rodríguez Zapatero and his party’s commitment to finding other solutions to the water question such as desalination.3 The shelving of PHN 2000 has not, however, put the question of water transfer to rest. New Statutes of Autonomy approved in Catalonia and Valencia (2006) retained clauses relating to future water transfer and, in 2008, the Zapatero government approved a mini-transfer from the Ebro to Barcelona.4 In addition, the leader of Spain’s PP, Mariano Rajoy, remains committed to the Ebro transfer as envisaged in PHN 2000. Interestingly, during the course of this study, regional elections in Aragon in 2007 saw a major turnaround in the electoral fortunes of the CHA, with the loss of 5 of their seats in the Regional Parliament and the loss of their only Deputy in the Congress. This turnaround could in part be attributed to the perceived removal of the threat to the Ebro and also to the party’s emphasis on socialist and ecological tenets rather than a more nationalist approach and problematic pacts in Zaragozan local government. 3 18 June 2004 the Council of Ministers approved the Real Decreto-Ley which revoked the Ebro Transfer. 4 The Valencian Statute retains the ‘right of redistributing from surpluses coming from rivers’ (Ley Orgánica 1/2006, 10 April 2006). iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Michael Derham, for his support, guidance and advice during the years of research and writing of this doctoral thesis. I would also like to thank Dr Alex Cowan who joined my supervision team in the later stage. In Aragon, I would like to thank Chaime Marcuello for his support, help with arranging interviews and above all his friendship and that of his family which gave me the opportunity to experience Aragonese family life. My thanks also go to Eloy Fernández Clemente, Carlos Serrano and Victor Barrios for sharing their knowledge and books. I am also grateful to all of my interviewees who found time in their busy schedules to meet with me. Finally, I would also like to thank the staff of Archivo de Aragonesismo Contemporáneo of the Rolde de Estudios Aragoneses, the Hemeroteca Municipal, the Instituto Bibliográfico Aragonés and the University of Zaragoza Library for their help and kind attentiveness.