The head of Government of Andorra, Xavier Espot, has indicated that the law that will require a minimum level of Catalan to renew the residence permit in Andorra will "surely" not be extended to everyone.
"Whoever comes to reside in our country and who is not going to work in our country, because he is a resident without lucrative activities, because he is a passive resident, this may be the case of 'youtubers', it will not be necessary to extend it," he clarified in an interview with Catalunya Ràdio.
He explained that it is a legislative initiative that has not yet been approved and that the Government will present this Wednesday, to update a law "that has become obsolete" on the social use of Catalan.
"Does that mean that we will turn Andorra into an absolute linguistic dictatorship? Obviously not. People will be able to continue speaking in the language they want," and he has defended that it is a country open to immigration and with many multilingual people.
Passive residence is the permit obtained to legally establish yourself in Andorra without an employment contract, when dealing with an investor or a pensioner, or to carry out sporting, cultural or scientific activities.
The controversy broke out after the angry writing of the YouTuber Agustín51. The Andalusian content creator, residing in Andorra, exploded in one of his latest live shows, making his position regarding the new law very clear: "I have moved here because I can be happy and free," he begins by saying in his statement before to attack this new measure.
"Five years ago you told me that to move I had to learn Catalan and I didn't move. Because I like to move to free places," he insists. As he continues his speech, the tone also increases: "What is this? A fucking dictatorship?" she asks. Next, the streamer asks for "empathy" to understand her position.
Xavier Espot has also expressed surprise at the reaction to his explanation that he is homosexual: "Perhaps we have not finished normalizing sexual diversity."
In the interview on Catalunya Ràdio, he assured that he did not expect that "it would take this breadth" to say his sexual orientation, on Monday, in statements to Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra (RTVA).
"That I have expressed it openly can facilitate or help young boys and girls who can reflect on me and think that, despite having a different sexual orientation than the majority, they can reach the highest judiciary," he said.
