Jordi Pujol I Soley - Pujol and Catalan Nationalism

Pujol and Catalan Nationalism

During the last decades of the Franco regime and his 23 years as President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Jordi Pujol pertained to the majority establishment in Catalan nationalism, which, instead of seeking a fully independent republic, intended to work towards a federalized Spain that would, according to Pujol, recognize Catalonia "as a country, as a collective with its own personality and differences," and a "guarantee that her own identity be respected".

However, with the conservative People's Party waging a political war against the Catalan Statute of Autonomy and opposing recognition for the language in the east of Aragon, Pujol has stated that, at least since before the Spanish transition to democracy, "there is more aggression towards Catalonia than ever", and that Catalans can "no longer hope for anything from the Spanish state".

A lifelong federalist, Pujol has recently become very disenfranchised by the Spanish political arena. He also has recently stated that the recent surge of outright Catalan separatism is "all in the right".