- The delegate highlights that “defending the Constitution is defending the values that unite us as a society”
- Councillor Dalmau argues that the Magna Carta “has given us tools to defend the Catalan language and culture”
Barcelona, December 3, 2024.- The government delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto, warned on Tuesday that "hate speech and disinformation are the greatest threats to our Constitution and our institutions." In this regard, the delegate mentioned “episodes such as the one lived yesterday in the Senate that demonstrate to what extent the instructions can be used for this purpose.”
He said this in his speech at the 46th anniversary of the Constitution, celebrated in the Archives of the Crown of Aragon, in which the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, also participated, and in which Prieto stressed the importance of complying with the Constitution “not only when it is convenient, but always”, since it remains “the cornerstone of the rule of law” and the foundation that guarantees the coexistence of all citizens.
The councillor of Igualtat i Feminisme attended the event. Eva Menor, the deputy delegate of the Government in Barcelona, Mari García-Calvillo, and the deputy delegate of the Government in Girona, Pere Parramon, among others.
Prieto recalled the context in which the Constitution was born in 1978, remembering that, in a divided country, the courage and hope to move towards a better future overcame fear. “The Constitution was the result of a pact between different people, a pact that allowed us to leave behind the tensions of the past and build a common framework for coexistence,” he said. For Prieto, that same capacity for dialogue and consensus is more important than ever in today’s society.
FIREARM
In his speech, the delegate called for unity and responsibility in the fulfillment of the Magna Carta: “The Constitution cannot be used as a weapon of arrogance. It is our charter of rights and duties, and it must be fully complied with, not only partially and not only when it suits.”
In this regard, it has appealed to all institutions and public servants to work together to strengthen the democratic principles that underpin the country.
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
With regard to fundamental rights, Prieto has emphasized the defense of the rights of migrants, recalling that the Constitution obliges to protect their dignity and rights. “It is our duty, and a constitutional mandate, to defend their rights so that no one, regardless of their origin, is excluded from our plural and diverse society,” he said. In addition, he has pointed out that access to housing is one of the main challenges today.
In this regard, Prieto has invoked Article 47 of the Constitution, which establishes the right of all Spaniards to decent housing: “Access to housing is the main concern of Catalans, especially young people.”
WEALTHY LANDLORDS, POOR TENANTS
The delegate highlighted the recent announcement by the Government to promote the creation of a public housing company, a measure that will be added to the Housing Law 12/2023. “This Government is going to promote the creation of a public housing company, which will have the mission of building and managing real estate from the General Administration of the State. We do not want a Spain of rich owners and poor tenants,” said Prieto, reiterating the commitment to guarantee the right to decent and adequate housing.
In addition, he stressed that Spain has made great progress in terms of rights and freedoms, such as gender equality, equal marriage and environmental protection. “Spain is now a pioneer nation in these advances, and the Constitution has been the fundamental framework to achieve it”, he concluded, and reaffirmed that the Constitution remains the basis on which a modern, inclusive and progressive Spain is built.
DALMAU
In his speech, the Minister of the Presidency stressed that the Constitution, which coexists with the Statute of Autonomy that “reflects the will of self-government of the Catalan people, is an agreement based on mutual respect and allows Catalonia to manage its own affairs today while preserving its identity, while actively participating in the common project of Spain”.
Dalmau stressed that the Magna Carta “is neither one nor the other, but everyone’s” because it reflects the collective aspirations of a society that knew how to leave divisions and conflicts behind in order to move towards a common future.
Therefore, he has warned of those political discourses and projects that seek to “divide rather than unite with ideologies already overcome in other places of Europe and now resurface”, because they are putting the future challenges at risk.
DEFENDING LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
The councillor said that, thanks to the years of constitutional life, Spain has been able to become an “open, welcoming society, capable of integrating and enriching its diversity without losing its own character”.
“As a Catalan, when I think about the Constitution, I imagine a house where everyone has their own space, a place where they can grow, reflect and build a common roof. Thanks to the legal framework it creates, Catalonia can exercise its competences. It allows us to live and work in Catalan, a language that was persecuted for a long time and now we can use it normally,” he said.
In this sense, he defended that the Constitution “has given us tools to grow as a country, to defend language and culture and to demand individual and collective rights.”