Josep Vila: "We are neither for xenophobia nor for whitewashing the 155 parties"

BarcelonaJosep Vila (Cellera de Ter, 1959) was elected president of the National Catalan Assembly last Saturday. An election that took everyone by surprise. Few knew that the then leader of the entity, Lluís Llach, would step aside. In his first interview, he explains how the election went and the challenges he sets for himself under his presidency.

Were you expecting to be president of the ANC?

— No, no. I was part of the standing committee, I was responsible for political incidence and I was considering whether to run for re-election. And once I had already decided that I would run again, a few days later the possibility of taking a step forward arose.

When did Llach inform you that he wanted to leave the presidency?

— With the electoral process initiated. He was a candidate and so was I. It is here that he raises the possibility that perhaps he is not running for president, but he does not decide until the eve. While he decides, he does ensure that someone steps forward.

Does the fact that the board has been elected on the first ballot show that the entity has achieved internal peace?

— The entity has carried out a critical review of its own functioning and is committed to turning the page. Either we turn the page on several post-2017 years of many Cainite struggles and recriminations, or we won't move forward with this.

Speaking of unity: how do you assess the atavistic divergences between Junts and Esquerra?

— I do not know the ultimate reasons for these divergences, but the frustration of 2017 is complicated to manage and causes the different agents of independence to hurl accusations and reproaches at each other. And repression must be added, which continues. For the mere act of going to a simple demonstration, you can still find yourself involved in a judicial process and be asked for several years in prison.

What do you think of the strategy of the major pro-independence parties?

— We are the social sector. It is not our place to evaluate the work of the parties, but to present them with our demands. The first is that they put independence at the center of the political debate. And the second is that they bet on democratic regeneration, because there is a very big distance between the parties and the people.

Does regeneration depend on Carles Puigdemont and Oriol Junqueras making way for new leaders?

— This must be decided by the parties, and we must be respectful. What is evident is that alongside leaders of many years, new leaders must appear. But regeneration is not only focused on the renewal of leaders, but also on parties being much more transparent and ceasing to be seen as placement agencies.

Llach was very critical of Esquerra. Should bridges be rebuilt?

— We would like to build bridges with everyone, that all agents of the independence movement were capable of going together, but we don't want to sell smoke. In these moments of such distance, we cannot think that tomorrow we will all go hand in hand and unitedly. But we do have to start sharing consensuses and projects.

Also with Catalan Alliance?

— We have a very clear framework of action: human rights and the rights of peoples and nations. We ask any party to respect these rights. We are neither for xenophobia nor for whitewashing the parties of the 155, that is to say, those people who deny us a fundamental right, recognized internationally, such as the right to self-determination. This is also a red line.

Is a new confrontation with the State far away?

— We must lay the groundwork for this new onslaught, and the most important tool we have is the people. Determined and organized people with a web that structures the entire territory. This is where the ANC has its work. We must weave this network well, seeking complicity with other entities. We must work hard to get here.

And how can this social majority be activated?

— One of the objectives of this new term, which we already started working on in the previous one, is to revitalize all the grassroots assemblies. Building independence means having decisive, organized nuclei, capable of mobilizing and influencing their territory. The recovery begins by structuring this network.

What are other objectives of your mandate?

— Place independence at the center of political debate as we did with the Rodalies demonstration. Also the denunciation of fiscal plunder and its consequences, or the fight for Catalan.

The ANC has lost members and influence in recent years. How can the entity be claimed right now?

— We are not at a peak moment, but if we add up the militants of all the pro-independence parties in Catalonia, they add up to less than the active members of the ANC. With all humility, we recognize that we are at a low point, but also that we are a very important force.