I imagine Vincent Soler with a smile somewhere between sad and sly. Political decisions (they are always ultimately arbitrary, no matter how many previous reports) these days once again wanted to combine the names Soler and Vicent Ventura. The two are once again on the same side, the side of the outlaws, those who obstruct power simply by being there.
At the end of the Franco era, the young Soler made his political debut in the struggle for freedoms alongside an experienced Ventura, a politician and journalist (or vice versa). It was he who encouraged the meeting of ten Valencians in a nursing home in Alaquàs to form the Democratic Council of the Land of Valencia in June 1975. The meeting ended with ‘els 10 d’Alaquàs’, one of the symbolic events of the struggle for democracy. The arrest and imprisonment of these ten activists led to a mobilization that crossed borders and culminated in an amnesty five days after Franco’s death. Vicent Soler and his teacher Ernest Lluch were among them.
The centenary of Vicent Ventura’s birth will be celebrated in 2024, when almost everything is in the past, and this is news because Valencian institutions profile themselves and do not celebrate it. Today Vicen Soler is in the news because the Government of Valencia, in the hands of the PP and Vox, decided to remove him from the presidency of the Social Council of the University of Valencia, which he has held for a year. He was appointed by the previous leftist ruler to whom he belonged.
The question of why still remains. The Ministry of Education (PP) claimed the search for more jobs and less academic profiles. Arguments can always be found. For any decision. However, this position has always had a high social recognition as a figure of honor that acts as a bridge between the professoriate and society. In the years of previous PP governments, this presidency was held by notary Carlos Pascual de Miguel and lawyer Manuel Broseta Dupré. Second, his term was extended during Ximo Puig’s first term, remaining until 2019.
Of course, public administration positions need to be renewed when there is a political change. New managers have the right to implement new action plans with their teams, thanks to the citizens’ vote. However, one would like to believe that there are representative positions and social figures that should be above political conflicts and deserve respect. From this perspective, the decision regarding Soler is incomprehensible. He was a former councilor and an important socialist leader, yes, and there will certainly be his critics in the education community. Is this sufficient reason for dismissal? I think no. Soler is also a professor of Economics with a respected career and a seasoned advocate for freedoms and self-government. If Carlos Mazón presides over the Generalitat and JA Rovira is the Minister of Education, this is largely due to the struggle of Soler and many others for autonomy when there was neither democracy nor autonomy in Spain.
The context is provocative, there are apocalyptic declarations almost daily, and if we are truly interested in de-escalating public life as the rulers say, we must start by respecting the past and its symbols. The rest serves to spread a polarized and toxic climate from politics to society. Just as there are names like Sorolla, Blasco Ibáñez, Fuster, Estellés, Ventura, Sanchis Guarner, Broseta and even Casp that should be excluded from the political struggle because they represent everyone’s past with their successes and mistakes, the society of representation also has its positions. this must be respected. And even if the position depends on political leaders, the University also needs to assert itself and assert itself in such situations.
Now that there has been so much talk about the construction of narrative and perception, decisions such as the dismissal of Soler or the institutional oblivion of Estellés and Ventura in their centenaries help bring together the message of the sectarian and censorious government initiated by the left. Consell is also at PP and Vox. PP will of course answer that Botànic’s education policy is sectarian and therefore we can continue to throw stones from one roof to another. Instead of moderating public life, we can continue to contribute to extreme positions in society.