During the week marking the 40th anniversary of its founding, the Valencian language initiative Llei d’Us i Ensenyament del Valencià (LUEV) drew attention from the Minister of Education, José Antonio Rovira. He reiterated a commitment to increase the use of Valencian in Spanish-speaking regions so that young people living there do not hesitate to take the Valencia subject in exams. He emphasized that authentic learning leads to a diploma in Valencian, but that promoting the language should be cooperative rather than coercive.n
Rovira spoke after attending the Renowagro International Meeting, responding to questions about plans to amend the Multilingualism Law approved by the previous Botànic administration. He noted that the regional government was preparing a draft to update the Multilingualism Law ahead of the next academic year.n
Opposition: “PP and Vox claim the language erases illiteracy because they only speak Spanish”
Rovira commented that changes had been made to the attached law in the 2024 budgets to correct an apparent absurdity. In zones where the law declared Spanish as the spoken language, basic lessons would be taught in Valencian. He described that approach as unacceptable, stressing that LUEV holds Valencian is not the native language of all residents in every region and warning that imposing language use does not yield positive outcomes. He urged dialogue rather than compulsion.n
Agreement against “setbacks”
Opposition parties PSPV and Compromís framed LUEV as a model of political and social consensus in facing supposed setbacks that some in the Consell wished to advance, a view echoed by PPCV and Vox. They signaled ongoing discussions to refine the Multilingualism Act. The stance was that Castilian was never endangered, and the focus was the progress of Valencia rather than the interests of Castile, according to PSPV leader Ximo Puig. Compromís spokesperson Gerard Fullana criticized PP and Vox for speaking about language freedom in ways that reflected ignorance, emphasizing that it is wrong to teach people to speak a language they already use in daily life. Puig added that PSPV would organize two events in the coming weeks to honor supporters of LUEV, a rule that helped Valencians resist cultural obscurity over four decades.