The Catalan banker who tried 'possibilism' during the Franco regime

Four and a half years ago, we dedicated this very space to praising the figure of Josep Suñol Garriga (1898-1936), a key figure in the country's history as a newspaper entrepreneur, member of the Republican Left (ESC), and president of Barça. He ended his life shot by the coup plotters during the early days of the Civil War. The Suñol family fortune came from sugar beet farming, the star product since the loss of the colonies in 1898. As the Catalan elites are closely intertwined, it so happens that in the law office of Ildefonso Suñol Casanovas (1866-1936), Félix Escalas Chamení, who over the years would become a key figure in the country's business and political world,

Today's protagonist was born in the city of Palma and during his youth he dedicated himself to writing journalistic collaborations in some local media, such as The Almudaina, The Voice of Mallorca and The Mail of MallorcaLater, he moved to Barcelona to study law, and it was during his internship that he set foot in the Suñols' office. (industry and navigation). During his fourteen years in the position, he was often the entity's representative at international conferences and assemblies, a fact that gave him a significant contact list. of the recently founded Catalan division (in practice, it was a separate and autonomous entity from the parent company). Also key to this appointment were the eight months he spent in Madrid with Francesc Cambó, who had been appointed Minister. His position at the bank lasted until 1944, and he eventually became its CEO. of the Barcelona Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation (today, the Academy of Catalonia). His leap into the world of industrial business came with Urquijo's holdings, allowing him to serve on the management bodies of large Catalan companies where the bank had invested, such as Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima and Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima.

In the political arena, he soon became involved with the Regionalist League, and thus had the close relationship with Cambó that we mentioned earlier. This connection led him to publish articles in The Voice of Catalonia and in the magazine Economy and FinanceBoth publications were related to the League: the newspaper as a means of communication and the magazine because it belonged to Editorial Catalana, the company founded by Francesc Cambó in 1917. In 1919, he became a provincial deputy in the Barcelona Provincial Council, a position he held for four years, and was later appointed vice president of the Mancomunitat (Mancomunidad). He did not return to politics until the time of the Republic, when he held several positions in the Generalitat immediately following the events of October 6, 1934. Also at that time, he served as president of the Chamber of Commerce (1934-1938), a position he would hold again many years later (1954-1963). In 1960, he was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences, and his induction speech was entitled The universal economic whirlwind, a statement inspired by the book Confusion of confusions by Joseph de la Vega, published in 1688 and considered the first stock market manual in history. Due to his good relations with Franco's regime, he tried to find loopholes for the Catalan bourgeoisie to have a say in the dictatorship's decisions, which was called "possibilism." On some occasions, it worked.