Jordi Pujol's fight for posterity

Jordi Pujol was one of the first targets of Operation Catalonia, launched by Jorge Fernández Díaz's Ministry of the Interior to wage a dirty war against the then-emerging Catalan independence movement. Pujol and his family were prioritized even though the president had long since left power, was not a key figure in what later became known as the Process of Catalan Independence, and had not declared himself in favor of independence. In its efforts to seize the Pujol family's accounts in Andorra, Operation Catalonia allegedly committed various crimes and destroyed two banks: Banca Privada de Andorra and its Spanish subsidiary, Banco de Madrid.

In the summer of 2014, the former president confessed—ignoring those who advised against it—that for decades he had hidden money abroad, the origin of a donation from his father, Florenci, the now-famous "leave." It is ironic that Pujol was investigated and prosecuted precisely for, let's say, a sin of greed. And it is ironic because he, personally—some of his children are another matter—has never been particularly interested in money, luxury, or even ostentation.

The uproar was deafening, because Pujol is not only the longest-serving president of the Generalitat in modern times and the one who laid the foundations of present-day Catalonia. He is also a powerful national, political, and moral symbol, an influence that transcends party lines. This symbolic status explains precisely why he was considered one of the greatest enemies to be eliminated. Immediately after his confession, the party he had founded, Convergència Democràtica, repudiated him. So did Artur Mas, then president of the Generalitat. This scandal was one of the reasons that led to the dissolution of CDC, a decision Pujol has never accepted.

This Monday, November 24, the trial against the former president and his children (Marta Ferrusola died in 2024) began – after thirteen years of investigation. The reason: corruption (collecting commissions for awarding public works contracts) and hiding millions outside of Spain. Contrary to common sense, after having Pujol – 95 years old – appear via videoconference, the court of the National Court has decided not to exclude him from the trialDespite two forensic doctors having determined that he is neither physically nor cognitively fit to defend himself, it appears to be too valuable a prize to relinquish. For his part, the former Catalan president has always expressed his firm willingness to appear.

Pujol's fall from grace in 2014 was followed by years of ostracism. Then, little by little, his image was rehabilitated, and he began to participate in public events. Many of these events were promoted by friends and admirers, but also by institutions. In this regard, it is worth highlighting Salvador Illa's courageous gesture of publicly meeting with his predecessor on September 17, 2014, shortly after the Socialist's investiture as President of the Generalitat.

In this process of reappearance, it is worth remembering, for example, the presentation of the reissue of Pujol's book From the hills on the other side of the river In February 2023, it became clear that Pujol had decided to stop hiding. It also revealed the Convergència leader's long-standing obsession with how his political actions would be remembered and, even more so, with the role he would play in the collective memory of future generations. As is well known, history is written by historians, but collective memory is shaped by societies over time. At the Ona bookstore, Pujol confessed: "It's about heeding what my wife always told me: 'You must make sure that young people are interested in what you say and in your actions.'" The event was introduced by Montserrat Dameson, who belongs to the same generation as Pujol's grandchildren. With the intention of establishing how he wanted to be remembered, Pujol had published his three-volume memoirs, written with the late journalist Manuel Cuyàs, years before his confession about his father's death.

Pujol, a Christian Democrat with a social conscience, has always looked to Prat de la Riba of the Mancomunitat (Commonwealth of Catalonia) as his political role model, much more so than to Macià, Cambó, or Companys. He admires Prat de la Riba's capacity for real transformation of the country, despite the great difficulties and limited resources available. As a Catholic and as a person, however, Pujol is a harsh, even brutal, judge of himself. Pujol is neither an enthusiast nor a fan of Pujol. But, beyond the ruler and the person, there is another dimension to consider: his undeniable ideological influence. Over the years, and even before his rise to the presidency of the Generalitat in 1980, Pujol has been the most important ideologue of Catalanism or Catalan nationalism—something Spanish nationalism has not forgiven him for—so that one cannot understand present-day Catalonia without taking his contribution in this area into account. The entirety of Pujol's legacy—political, doctrinal, and symbolic—has been enhanced in recent years, to the point that some of his former adversaries—the Socialists and ERC—are now trying to claim credit for it. This is especially true given that Carles Puigdemont, the leader of Junts per Catalunya, has been reluctant and ambiguous regarding Pujol, who also made significant contributions to the governance and transformation of Spanish democracy.