In 2015, he became a politician, but he holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics. When was it politicized?
It seems strange, though, at the time of college. Well, I would say I've always been interested in politics, but having participated in the college student movement was important. It was then that I gained greater awareness and involvement.
Are mathematics closer than it seems to be to politics?In my
previous generation, it was the ones who devoted their mathematics studies to politics. In any case, in my faculty, the student movement was especially strong. I think it's enriching to get out of the logics of always, because politics is intrinsic, and to dedicate yourself to this world, you don't have to be an expert in political science, in law or in philology.
In student movements yes, but on the independence left you have never militated. Why?
Because I come from social movements. I have always understood that, beyond ideological unity, movements that do not have organic ties with political parties are essential. It's important to make that distinction. I felt more comfortable in social movements.
What are your political referents?
Many referents have influenced my trajectory. One of them has been Arcadi Oliveres, for his political commitment to the transformation of Catalonia and for his way of understanding the commitment. I've learned a lot from him. Another referent has been the Brazilian Chico Whitaker, founder of the World Social Forum, among others. And finally, Érik Toussaint, the thinker of the debt of poor countries, his conception has been key to me. Starting from Catalonia to the open world, those three have probably been the most prominent.
You come from the basic Christian movements.
I shrunk from the family that drinks from the parish and, therefore, my relationship with Christianity comes from the family. That is why, surely, in the university era I immersed myself in basic Christian movements and critical thoughts and reflections. Not so much Catholics, but Christians. I would say that these experiences affect me today in a way that engages me in politics. And that experience drove me, somehow, to be rooted in what I am, what I live with and what I feel.
Some people think that being left-wing and Christian is a contradiction. On the other hand, it is rage to say that the right is Catholic. Why?
Because it is an absolute contradiction. The Catholic Church has been built as it has been built over the centuries, but the birth of the conception of the Church is radically opposed to the right-wing ideology. At a historic moment, power and the Catholic Church became the same. But it's also what I've drunk from Christianity, a way of living religion and understanding compromise, very different from being right-wing and protecting privilege.
However, the need to participate in the logic of the Church as a Christian is often recognized. How do you manage this dichotomy?
The powerful have always explained the story of their story. The Catholic Church – the institutions – has undeniable power and has spread its story, here and there, over the centuries. But there have also been countless friends who come from fundamental Christianity for being far from the Church. After all, there is a tendency to sell homogeneity and those of us who come out of the rules are marginalised. Without further ado, the Christians who walk away from the institution of the Catholic Church do not breast up. It is not necessary.
Let's go back to your route. In 2015 he was the fourth candidate on the Cup list in the Barcelona municipal elections. You entered three and stayed out, and within a few months you entered Parliament. How have these two years gone? On the
one hand, time has passed very fast, but on the other, very slow. The truth is that I did not think much, but probably the situation would have been very different if I were a councillor at the Barcelona City Hall. Parliament’s visibility is greater.
He went from being an activist at Fiare Banca Ética to negotiating Parliament's budgets. Is there ethics in public institutions?
By no means. At least, not as I understand ethics. To some extent we knew that the institutions have been raised by several elites with a single objective: to maintain privileges. And then it's the public institutions that have been submerged in that logic. But the system is a pure monster theater. That is why ethics has no place here. Everything is measured in the face of the forthcoming elections.
Now that the Cup is part of the institutions, does it have the capacity to change the core of the
system?Institutions can change as long as the street people remain alive. And, unfortunately, the main problem today is that the people on the street have put all the responsibility in the hands of the institutions. A political force like the Cup will not be able to transform the house. After all, the institutions are the status quo created by a status quo.
With a great deal of work, however, you accepted the budgets. Are you happy with the decision?
We approve the budgets after an absurd blackmail. For tactical reasons, we decided to go ahead and pray for the claim of society. The feeling we have had afterwards is that there were people interested in not approving the budgets, because, in that case, they would not have to organise the referendum. In other words, we would have done them a favor. Moreover, until we accept them, little was done in favour of the referendum. We are now in a time of extension, there is less and less time left and the steps are still very slow. We are therefore concerned about the situation.
You are proposing the creation of a follow-up committee to the referendum, and ERC welcomes this. What would that look like?
I believe that the Catalan National Congress ANC long ago made a similar proposal. The follow-up committee is essential, as anyone who is in favour of the referendum will be able to participate. Also the friends of Comú. Sometimes it seems that the Govern tries to be more cunning than that of Spain, and there is a tendency to hide, “just in case”. But the state has all the strength and it will be difficult to fool. Therefore, what we have to do is organise this monitoring committee to live up to what is to come. We are in May and it is time for people to move. Unfortunately, however, we are far from that scenario, because we do not yet know when the referendum is going to be.
The social movement is said to be off. Do you agree? It
is clear that the social movement left the fight in the hands of Parliament after the elections on 27 September. And this fact is very dangerous, because so far we have arrived thanks to civil society and the street movement. Mobilisations are essential in order to give the government a boost, but above all in order to support the referendum. Moreover, this seems to be a clash between governments. And over these months the Spanish Government is going to use the tactic of fear, threats and imputations. The only way to avoid this is to comply with the steps agreed by the Govern ment and, of course, that the demands of the street people are not interrupted. We must maintain a climate at the level of an exceptional political context.
A few weeks ago they said that if there is no referendum, the Cup would leave Parliament… Well, we
give up our priorities in order to be able to approve the budgets. We cast two votes by setting the deadline until September. And of course, if that doesn't happen, the Cup is going to end the legislature. If there is no referendum, this legislature makes no sense. Yes, we do not plan B. We are working to enable Catalan society to vote in a referendum before the end of September.
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