Hundreds of thousands of Valencians know Valencian, they know how to read and write, thanks to a norm that is now 40 years old: the Llei d´Ús and Ensenyament del Valencià, the LUEV. A law that was born at a time of strong political and social upheaval, with episodes of strong violence in Valencia, but with the determination of a generation of young politicians who had managed to promote the Valencian Statute (1982) and now needed to normalize the teaching of Valencian .
Ciprià Ciscar (Picanya 1946) was the man who championed this normalization of Valencian after three hundred years of being a language banned in administration and education. As Minister of Education and Culture, he led the difficult consensus that allowed the creation of a law that, seen in perspective, has been a success. One fact: it was approved in 1983 without any vote against.
Seen in perspective, it is difficult to believe that the law was approved without any vote against. Those of us who are of a certain age know that those were times of serious tonality, with no little tension in the institutions and on the streets.
It's true. The political climate in Valencia from 1979 to 1983 was complex, harsh, with all the battle of symbols, language and the name of autonomy. There was no in-depth discussion about the powers contemplated in the new Statute approved months before, but there was a discussion around identity. This led to a serious confrontation, between right and left, in the entire Valencian community. The Statute was approved in July 1982 and was the only statute that had been returned by the Cortes Generales. There were a lot of problems, but yes, we did it.
How was it achieved?
When we began to work on the Law in 1983, after the regional elections, which were the first, we encountered this tension that is known as the "battle of Valencia." But we had to get into the linguistic issue. The Spanish Constitution recognized the co-official nature of the common language and its own, and that had to be regulated. But the Statute also established a series of conditions in the regulation, for example that the territories of linguistic predominance of one language or another should be determined, and that exceptions to the teaching of the language would be regulated. This led to a first discussion. Alianza Popular and Unión Valenciana requested that the areas of linguistic predominance be the current ones and not the historical ones, meaning that València or Alicante were left out as Spanish-speaking areas.
Valencian was left only for small towns.
But we managed to forge consensus. I believe that if the Law has lasted 40 years without being questioned, it is because we were able to agree on it among all of us, without anyone opposing it. It was a success for Valencian society.
The PSPV and PCPV voted in favor
Well, there were amendments even from the communists who asked that Valencian be optional.
Very Jacobin
The law was passed for two reasons: the PSPV had an absolute majority, and that gave us undeniable authority and legitimacy, but also because we did very intense negotiation work to make a decision in which there were no votes against. If it had been born as a law from one party, from only one party, they would surely have changed it several times in these 40 years. How many Education laws have been approved in Spain?
Several
Well that. We wanted, on an issue as important as the Valencian issue, to weave the consensus that has turned it into a law four decades old. It is a law that has served to expand the teaching of Valencian and promote its use.
The truth is that, despite all the upheavals, Valencian society wanted, at that time, to settle into modernity. And the Valencian was a nuclear piece of this Valencian transition.
You are right. I had conversations with all the representatives who had something to say about Valencian, from all political forces and cultural sectors; from those who defended the union of Catalan and Valencian to those who were against. With fundamental characters at that time and who, out of respect, I am not going to quote. Everyone, really, was aware that Valencian should be in education; Yes, each one with his own vision. Even from Unión Valenciana the type of Valencian and the rejection of Catalan was discussed, but not that it was taught; They wanted Valencian at school.
Was the agreement reached in a short time?
No no. We closed the agreement hours before it was presented and approved.
Did you take any legislative reference, other laws, to outline the Valencian one?
We consider the existing laws in autonomies such as Galicia, Catalonia or the Basque Country; and we were worried that it would not be written well and there would be legal claims before the courts. We considered the aspects determined by the Statute, not only did it say that the official languages were Spanish and Valencian, it talked about more things, and that is why the law had to adjust to the Statute, the Constitution and have sufficient support to guarantee its permanence. .
Political legitimacy and good legal design
The thing is, we were really afraid that it would be questioned in court, it would have been a problem. To avoid this, it was necessary to have no votes against and maximum skill in its application. Furthermore, it took three years to launch it, and fifty to see its effects. Let's think that we had spent 300 years with the Valencian ignored in school and administration, and limited to the family sphere.
Prudence
A time was needed in which it could be activated. One of the key issues, as I have mentioned, was that in the determination of linguistic predominance the historical one was approved, and that the exceptions were not simply granted, but rather those who did not want to ask for it, they went from 7,000 to 700 in a short time. time.
We have not talked about the teachers. In an autonomy that had just been born and with the powers transferred a few months before, it should not have been easy.
There were several shortcomings, and the teaching staff was the main one. There were teachers who actively collaborated, but we had to generate an adequate staff. Recycling was activated, because some came from the University, and these recycling were massive. In a short time, a thousand teachers entered. We knew that we needed three years, it was the minimum to be able to apply the law. But there were more shortcomings, such as the linguistic model, the standard to be used in classes; and also that we didn't have textbooks.
How was the linguistic model resolved?
It was resolved in agreement with the university and trying to get it as close as possible to the people's Valencian, normalizing it, but with university supervision. I want to highlight the excellent work of the coordinating Valencian teachers, who would later become inspectors, who were initially about thirty. I was very present throughout this process to meet the deadlines. Finally, we work a lot with parents
How did the parents in both areas accept it?
The law advanced and was accepted, all of that made it easier. There was some opposition in Alicante, but we talked again and it was resolved. In the end everything was very simple: Why does someone want to know a language? They can be one or more factors. It may be due to affective factors, identity factors and/or together with affective factors, or because it is identified as an economic and social value. If the language has a presence in the administration or in the economic sectors, many people understand that it is in their best interest to know that language. Thats the reality. It happens with English, you learn it because it opens up possibilities; You learn a language because you either feel it or it is useful to you.
Years later, the Valencian Academy of Language, AVL, was created. To what extent did this institution consolidate the process initiated by the LUEV?
The creation of the AVL was statutorily reserved before the reform of the Statute in 2006. It was created not by deploying the operative phase that linked it to the Consell Valencia de Cultura, CVC, but by creating it from somewhere else; but the truth is that it has worked, and that is the important thing. I believe that in that sense the LUEV, having resolved the linguistic model, and the AVL, are elements that have helped ensure that, surely, more than 50% of Valencians have been trained in Valencian at school. And in a few years, they will all be.
Do you think that in these very polarized times and with ultra-conservative forces in our territory, it would be possible to reach an agreement like the one reached in 1983?
It would be complicated, not impossible, but complicated, although it was also complicated at that time. But it is true that at that time there was awareness and will to advance in the defense of the Valencian.
Now the presence of Valencian in Spanish-speaking areas is questioned.
The exception must be requested, that is, it should not be activated by the administration, that is a mistake, it is not the model that we successfully implemented in Spanish-speaking areas. Furthermore, I believe that there are very few cases that request that exception. In the end, I think it is also important for parents that their children know Valencian even if it is not their main language.
Now there seems to be a political impulse from ultra sectors that question the AVL, ignore Valencian and opt for Spanish. Do you see risks for the Valencian?
There may be difficulties, but the process is already underway and consolidated. Teachers are, in themselves, a guarantee. Whoever wants to go back will be very contested, from society, from schools, and I believe that the exercises of law, when the law grants you rights, are enforceable, if someone wants to violate them.
Are you sad that the Valencian institutions have not carried out some type of activity to commemorate the anniversary of the LUEV?
I will say that as always I look positive. I am convinced that they will do it when the law turns 50 years old (laughs).
