Jordi Sànchez (Barcelona, 1964) not only does not leave Junts, but also leads the way by betting on Jordi Turull as general secretary of a party that he believes should be more efficient and coherent in the face of minority options based on feelings and easy applause.
Talk about his decision not to continue as general secretary as a wake up call. But, does he also leave because his authority has not been respected?
No, I have not felt injured. Mine is a strategic decision. Junts is at a crossroads: the need to take a new step, to structure ourselves much more efficiently, further integrating the various sensitivities and giving us a group loyalty that we have not always given ourselves enough of. JxCat has the need to take a step forward and for this, leaderships are required to prioritize group loyalty.
“We have to be more efficient integrating sensitivities and giving each other a loyalty that we haven’t always given each other”
What will you do from now on?
I have it in mind. My will is to continue working as a team and betting on Junts, being part of the team. The party must refine how it imagines itself leading the process towards self-determination and how it leads the action of good government.
You ask to be consistent between what is said and what is done. When the president of the Parliament made promises in the ‘Juvillà case’ or about the culmination of independence if ‘ex-president’ Carles Puigdemont returns, was this coherence being lacking?
The problem was not the ‘Juvillà case’ or the conduct of President Laura Borràs. The problem was the set of the independence forces. I have been careful not to look for easy applause if there cannot be a common thread. There are people who say that in 2029 we will be an independent state because of the math theory of history.
“My will is to continue betting on Junts, forming part of the team”
Yes. When you say this in an auditorium, people get excited because they want the country to be independent. But no leader can argue it.
In Junts is there an excess of this independence movement?
Not in Together. There is a sector of the independence movement that is very disappointed with the result of 2018 and 2019 when we were unable to give a strong response, and it takes refuge in these views. Looks that escape rationality and take refuge in feelings. It has happened in a small sector of independence and in a sector of unionism. The important thing is that most of us design an effective strategy to propose a new pulse to the State.
“There is a sector of the disappointed independence movement that takes refuge in feelings. The important thing is to design an effective strategy”
How can the independence movement grow, in your opinion?
Advancing in a position, which we have not been able to do, of working among the pro-independence formations to find a lowest common denominator to present to the State a demand that we are not presenting today. The independence movement in Madrid dialogues in a fragmented way. We must once again see a mobilized civil society and institutions that speak face to face with the State.
Speaking of mobilization, the MEP for Junts Clara Ponsatí affirms that independence is worth a human life…
I have not heard the interview. I come from nonviolent culture. Nonviolence is not indifference or passivity. We have to be willing to take the consequences.
It is the essence of nonviolence. Conflict management based on respect for the values of your adversary. Do not put your adversary’s life at risk, but uncover the injustice you suffer with nonviolent resistance and disobedience.
“Laura Borràs will be loyal to the decisions that are made. I have no complaint of disloyalty on her part”
After the massive demonstration on October 3, 2017, why was the proposal made by Jordi Cuixart and you to turn that action into a permanent concentration not heeded? Who decided not to?
There will be time to talk about it another time. On October 3 we lose the great opportunity because we do not know how to read the historical moment. The most serious mistake of my activism since 1981 is not knowing how to read on October 3 what had to be done. I had a proposal for a permanent and massive civil mobilization because it was the determining factor to be able to win self-determination. It was decided not to and I will not go into the who. There we missed the great opportunity.
Cuixart and you will no longer be in the front row. Speaking of renewal, could Jordi Turull be a good leader of Junts?
Can you be a good general secretary?
Will you support him if he shows up?
First we have to see who wants to bet on the general secretariat because it is not a comfortable moment. But not to shy away from the question, Jordi Turull would be a great general secretary and alongside Turull there are other leaders in the party who can and will have a lot of responsibility in the present and future.
“On 3-O we lost the great opportunity. I had a proposal for permanent mobilization, but it was decided not to do it”
Will Laura Borràs be loyal to the decision that is made regarding leadership?
Yes. I do not have a complaint of disloyalty and I have never raised loyalties in a personal key.
You claim that Junts is more efficient. How is it possible that a key agreement on linguistic immersion is signed and after some criticism on Twitter the pact falters?
We have not broken any pact. We have asked to expand it with the entities that promote the language and the educational community. We do not pay enough attention to the agreement, I am self-critical. We saw that the text was perfectible.
“On the issue of reporting abuse, we all have to learn. To Eduard Pujol, apologize and rehabilitate him”
The ‘ex-president’ Puigdemont will leave the presidency of the party?
The decision must be made by him, most of us would like him to continue. The presidency is compatible with his presidency of the Consell per la República.
Related news
Does Eduard Pujol have to be rehabilitated after being expelled for harassment complaints? Should the woman denounced by him, a party member, be expelled after the file that has been opened?
About the file, the executive will have to discuss it, I have not read the report of the guarantee commission. The complexity of these cases will be addressed. It is an issue, that of denouncing abuses and coercion, in which we all have to learn because they generate outrage. The case of Eduard Pujol, like that of the Institut del Teatre, should make us reflect on how to manage it. The best way is complaints and, from there, see how it evolves. We must apologize to Eduard Pujol, rehabilitate him and make it as easy as possible to recover him as a political asset in the life of the party.