The first vice-president of the Consell and Minister of Culture and Sports, Vicente Barrera, in the tribune of the Valencian Cortes, in front of the President of the Parliament, Llanos Massó, also from Vox. this Wednesday.MONICA TORRES
The first vice president and minister of culture of the Valencian Generalitat, the retired bullfighter Vicente Barrera of Vox, made his debut this Wednesday in the tribune of the Valencian Cortes with a very critical speech against the “sectarianism” of the previously ruling left (PSPV-SPOE, Compromís and Unides Podem) and in defense of bullfighting. “I come from the world of art and culture in which I have worked professionally, a world that has been silenced, if not ignored, outright mistreated. “I am committed to putting an end to all marginalization,” he said of the cops, drawing applause from his co-religionists and his PP government partners in the Generalitat.
After two months without commenting, Barrera got off to a stiff start, recognizing his lack of political experience. But as the intervention progressed, the businessman loosened up and seemed more comfortable in the standoff and in the retorts, peppering his speech with an Ultra formation constant such as “the danger of Spain breaking up.” The former bullfighter, who cut off his ponytail in 2011, claimed that he was “an artist” from the world of culture who had performed in large places and was therefore not afraid of “the convoluted lies” of the “torquemadas” from the world Left. “The announcement in Pamplona, Seville, Madrid or Valencia was really scary. I think they need to bring in more artillery to scare me.” He was supported in the visitors’ gallery by Vox’s general secretary, Ignacio Garriga.
Criticism of the left, sectarianism and pan-Catalanism, as well as the defense of tradition, took up a large part of his speech. He has launched a sharp attack against politicization, which he says aims to “undermine Valencia’s cultural identity.” This was “stolen” by “cultural pan-Catalanism” to “separate” Valencians from their “compatriots from the rest of Spain,” he said. Barrera claimed that Valencian is a different language from Catalan and announced that his ministry would stop funding organizations that defend this “predominant pan-Catalanism,” in his words, also referring to those who defend linguistic unity .
The President of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón (right), speaks with the first vice president, Vicente Barrera.MONICA TORRES
On the contrary, his department will “for the first time” subsidize local institutions such as Lo Rat Penat and the Royal Valencian Academy of Culture (RACV), which advocate a linguistic separation between Catalan and Valencian. These institutions violate the thesis of the international university and philological community and the criteria of the Valencian Language Academy, the regulatory body of the Generalitat, as established in the Statute of Autonomy approved in 2001 by the Valencian Cortes under the presidency of Eduardo Zaplana of the PP. The current president, the popular Carlos Mazón, reiterated last Monday that the Academy is the regulator, but asked him to be more sensitive to the postulates of PP and Vox regarding Valencian, defined in the RAE dictionary as “variant of “Catalan” is defined as spoken in much of the ancient Kingdom of Valencia and is generally considered to be its own.
In a speech delivered entirely in Spanish, Barrera outlined three criteria for his government’s actions: “freedom, respect for the law and the rational use of public resources.” He criticized the abandonment of the heritage by the previous government, which was made PSOE and Compromís were formed, as well as sectarianism in the content and attitude of cultural institutions. He also criticized “a large part” of the theater program for “the lack of interest.” “We are striving to redefine the award criteria” and to focus the evaluation on “talent, artistic quality and social impact, without forgetting modern and contemporary theater creation.” He has decided to make the year 2025 the Maria-Beneyto -year, an author who highlighted that she wrote in Spanish and Valencian “apart from sectarianism” and announced the creation of the Jaume I geographical route. She has also defended the neglected classics of Valencian culture. “none of which he names” and has expressed support for bands and “religious, musical or bullfighting expressions rooted in tradition.”
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The new vice president, 55, waited until his final appearance to respond to the opposition to his business dealings that swept through the chamber during the two hours of his appearance. Barrera assured that he had settled his situation exactly yesterday, on the last day of the two-month period provided for by law from his appointment. He distanced himself from the boards of his seven companies, primarily in real estate, wine and seafood, and took the opportunity to praise the work of the private sector and its contribution to the public.
Criticism of the opposition
The Socialist MP José Chulvi congratulated him because “he managed to get the PP to buy his entire history, he handed over culture to the ultras.” “You will be remembered as a councilor who was committed to the position and honored the statute. Many of your suggestions are about living against the law, they need enemies to breathe, but if you don’t believe in self-government, you can’t lead the culture,” he said. Aggregate. He has also sharply criticized Barrera’s lack of respect for the language academy, “one of the few things the PP has done well”, and that the language conflict has flared up again.
Compromí MP Verónica Ruiz stressed that the ministry’s aid was open to the public, accused Barrera of belonging to the most reactionary government and recalled that “Francoism destroyed plurality”. “I am a son of democracy, what do you tell me about Franco,” replied Barrera, who, however, did not answer the deputy if he had finally named his horse Caudillo, one of the options, along with those of Duce, Viriato or Escipión , which the current First Vice President and Minister of Culture of the Valencian Generalitat asked in a message on his social networks in 2021.