The uncomfortable debates of Valencian and Balearic sovereignty

ValenciaTwo questions to frame the debate. Does progressive sovereignty avoid discussing the management of migration flows and their impact on social cohesion, housing availability, or the marginalization of Catalan? Or, on the contrary, does conservative nationalism—intentionally or not—join in the criminalization of foreigners? Parties like Aliança Catalana and Vox are rising in the polls with an exclusionary discourse that prioritizes Catalans or Spaniards and often criminalizes immigrants. They also benefit from powerful platforms like Trumpism and all its media echo chamber.

A very recent example of this controversy has occurred in the Valencian Community following statements made by a former councilor from the Compromís party in the town of Burriana, in the province of Castellón. The Valencian politician stated that he "admires" Sílvia, the leader of Aliança Catalana. In an interview with ARA, Jorge Alarcón complained that his words had been "somewhat manipulated" and, above all, "misinterpreted." He also maintained that he believes Sílvia Ripoll demonstrates "consistency" between her words and actions, but that there is "a very large gap" between that and having to "imitate or reproduce" her discourse in the Valencian Community.

The politician from Burriana, who resigned from the party because he believes Compromís has subordinated the defense of Valencian interests to maintaining the stability of the Spanish government, sacrificing historical demands such as improved regional funding, complains that progressive parties do not address the most uncomfortable issues and that "demagoguery," which he claims Vox represents in the Valencian Community, is the defining characteristic. "Our identity is under attack, our language and culture are under attack, and when you don't address these issues with reason and moderation, demagoguery fills that void," he reiterates.

Among these unaddressed issues, Alarcón—who was a member of Més, the sovereignist wing of Compromís, and who retains his council seat despite resigning—cites housing policies and immigration management. "In the Nordic countries, nobody shys away from this debate because they have realized..." which has a real impact. I'm in favor of people being able to live wherever they want, but what we need to debate is whether we are economically and socially prepared to receive these people, as well as whether we have the basic services to do so,” he emphasizes. He also calls for an analysis of the integration and the impact on security of the newcomers. “I advocate for a model of orderly coexistence management. It's about doing things in a planned and rigorous way,” he concludes.

A center-right merger

As in the Valencian Community, in the Balearic Islands the anti-immigration discourse remains the domain of Vox and the PP (People's Party). However, in recent months, moves have been made to contest this space from the center-right Mallorcan political movement. Last November, the Por Mallorca (For Mallorca) party was launched in Palma with a clear message: "There are no other people in Mallorca," reported Anna Mascaró. This sentiment was echoed by one of its founders and coordinators, Joan Serra, who insisted that "Mallorcan identity is not a gift or an inheritance; it is earned by respecting our identity, idiosyncrasies, and interests." The party is a coalition between El Pi (created in 2012 from the more regionalist wing of the PP) and Som, a party led by Joan Lladó, former leader of ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia) in the Balearic Islands, who has denounced the "irresponsible naiveté of the left." Although Somos shares some proposals with Aliança Catalana—for example, prioritizing access to housing and social assistance for residents who have lived in Mallorca for at least fifteen years—it distances itself from Sílvia Orriols. Its leaders explain that the core of their project involves transforming the economic model, not an ethnic rejection of immigrants.

And while in the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands, concerns about immigration are sparking uncomfortable debates, Catalonia is not only no exception, but also has a component that, for the moment, has not surfaced in the other two regions: the existence of a pro-independence far right. Aliança Catalana, and not just Vox, has made anti-immigration a fundamental concept in its platform. Currently, Sílvia Orriols' party is the only one openly discussing the issue, although at the municipal level, mayors from Junts, the PSC, and even ERC are urging their leadership to develop proposals to address the migration challenge. Junts has made the most progress on this matter, and while it waits for the PSOE to fulfill its commitment to delegate immigration powers to the Generalitat—Podemos has blocked this in Congress—it has long since commissioned the internal development of a plan that is practically ready for release. The members of the regional parliament are precisely those most threatened electorally by the far-right pro-independence movement, which proposes easy solutions – with the expulsion of undocumented immigrants as its main rallying cry – to difficult problems.