Josep Sala i Cullell: "Immigration is a subsidy for businesses"

BarcelonaJosep Sala i Cullell is a geography teacher at a high school in Norway. His first essay, Plug generation, It sparked some controversy when addressing generational power struggles. Now it returns with We are not 6 million (Portico), A book in which he calls for open discussion about immigration and criticizes the fact that we have been sold, as inevitable, a model designed to favor employers and harm workers.

The book begins with silence.

— I was due to go on Catalunya Ràdio that morning to talk about organized crime in Northern Europe, and the panel discussion was about housing. When Ustrell greeted me, he said, "Would you like to add anything?"

And she added it.

— "In 10 years the country has grown by 800,000 people and not even 10,000 apartments have been built." There was such a long silence I thought the connection had been cut. Then they said, "Wow, that's crazy, it's complicated," and we didn't speak again.

Why do you think this happens?

— Because if you mention immigration, you're accused of playing into the hands of the far right. That's why I wrote the book, to talk about immigration just like we talk about healthcare or education. And because whoever tells you that you can't talk about it is hijacking the debate, is saying: "I'll talk about this according to my own interests."

Are the problems when it comes to talking about immigration solely on the left?

— The right wing doesn't want to talk about immigration because the current system suits them just fine. In Norway, on the other hand, it's the unions and the left who want significant restrictions on economic immigration, because they want to prevent what's called social dumping: workers willing to do the same job for lower wages and worse working conditions.

Why doesn't this happen in Catalonia?

— The left has adopted the neoliberal discourse of open borders, and to say that wanting to control them is fascist. But this is in the interest of Foment del Treball, not the workers.

You say this happens because we don't have a state.

— Exactly, since there are things we shouldn't decide, we sometimes have a public discourse—from politicians and commentators alike—of children, incapable of confronting the world's problems head-on. What do we do then? Moralism.

I mean…

— Let's not talk about how we want things to be, but how they should be. Should the defense budget be increased? How do we confront Trump and Putin? Should mandatory military service be reinstated? Here, instead of addressing these issues, we adopt a "brothers, let's shake hands" approach, and then proceed to moralize.

What immigration model do we have?

— We must legally distinguish between three types of immigrants: Europeans, who have a certain degree of freedom of movement thanks to the Schengen Agreement; refugees, who flee conflict and persecution; and economic migrants. The Spanish model is based on the constant influx of people to perform low-wage jobs under precarious conditions, with the aim of maintaining a very low-productivity sector.

Who benefits from this model?

— In the business sector, there are a number of companies—tourism, construction, meat processing—that couldn't exist without a constant influx of workers willing to accept low wages. There should be some industrial or economic restructuring, but it hasn't happened because these sectors have been able to access a steady supply of labor.

The minimum wage has been raised.

— And I think that's positive. But we're moving towards a model where many people earn the minimum wage, and a select few are above it. And since you can't live on the minimum wage, the State has to set up a whole system of subsidies: electricity discounts, school meal programs… In other words, these employers find workers who can get by because the State provides them with aid. It's a subsidy for businesses. Nothing surprising if we look at who created it.

Who?

— The People's Party in 2000, that is, José María Aznar, Rodrigo Rato… It is clear that they did not create a model because they were charitable, they did it for the pure economic interest of the elites.

How does it harm workers?

— Have you seen who publicly defends immigration? University professors, film directors, journalists… People who don't compete for jobs with immigrants. The system harms everyone who has to use the healthcare and education systems, everyone who uses public transportation, because we have the same transportation network we had when we were 6 million. And now we're more than 8 million.

The PSOE has not changed that PP model either.

— It's a model that benefits the state. These people work, pay income tax, and the state can say that GDP is growing. But what about healthcare? What about school subsidies? These are paid for by the regional governments. And social services? Those are paid for by the local councils.

Is the solution to stop them from coming?

— When the United States closed its border due to COVID, business owners complained that they couldn't find workers. Joe Biden stepped up to the microphone and said, "Pay them more." Well, there you have it. Business owners will have to raise wages if they want to compete for workers.

Others will have to close.

— Yes, and we'll do well, because a business based on low wages is not in our country's interest.

Immigrants are arriving while the birth rate is plummeting. Should we have a downsizing policy?

— The fact is, we're going to experience a decline. Humanity as a whole is approaching 2.2 children per woman. The only countries above that are in Central Africa, Afghanistan, and Yemen. The idea that poor countries have fewer children is outdated. India is below 2. So is Colombia. We are stealing their future. Before, we stole their gold and silver, and now we are stealing their children. It is estimated that the world's population will decline by 2050-60; this is a fact. Either we begin the transition to a model that doesn't rely on continued population growth, or it will be imposed upon us.

But Spain borders the continent where the biggest population boom is expected. How can we prevent them from seeking a future in a wealthier country?

— This immigration is minuscule. Of all the immigrants in Catalonia, perhaps 5% have crossed the sea. There are one million people in Catalonia born in Latin America. There are Chinese and Pakistanis. How did they enter? Through Barajas Airport.

What do you propose?

— Speak out without fear. And there will be people we'll have to say no to, just as we would have to say no to them right now if we wanted to go to Canada. The Comuns and the PSC are now talking about a Catalonia of 10 million and telling us it's inevitable. This is pure authoritarianism. It will happen if we want it to. And if we don't want it, legal measures must be put in place to prevent it from happening.

For example?

— Spain is the only country that allows regularization based on residency. In other countries, you can't regularize your status if you entered illegally. Here, you can register your address without papers and have a job. Italy, France, and Germany don't allow this. And we're not saying they're rabid racists.

Are you worried that Aliança Catalana might take advantage of the speech?

— No, because Aliança Catalana isn't an anti-immigration party, it's an anti-Muslim party. But its electoral platform is typical of Convergència's 1999 platform. They want more tourism, more events… Therefore, Aliança defends an economic model that requires a constant influx of cheap labor. I'm not afraid they'll exploit the book: I've written a left-wing book.

Is someone who lives and works in Catalonia considered Catalan?

— If a Norwegian politician were to say, "Anyone who lives and works in Norway is Norwegian," perhaps a doctor would come to check on him. I don't believe in identity; I believe in citizenship. I feel Catalan because I went to a Catalan school and ate cannelloni at Christmas. But I feel like a Norwegian citizen. And that's very different.

Is someone who lives and works in Catalonia a Catalan citizen?

— Women have citizenship in Spain. And this presents many difficulties… Look at the survey on language use. What percentage of these two million people born abroad use Catalan as their habitual language? Five percent. This is a complete failure.

You're not a demographer, nor an immigration expert. Why did you decide to write the book?

— Very easy. Because no one else has done it. In Catalonia, three important things have happened in recent decades: the 2008 crisis, the independence movement, and immigration. How many books come to mind about the crisis and the independence movement? And yet, about immigration, how many? I shouldn't have done it, but I did because now I believe that our silence on this issue will cost us years of fascism. I hope it will encourage some on the left to try to balance the discourse of helping those in need with defending the local working class.