A homage to Josep Tarradellas

A new exhibition dedicated to Josep Tarradellas and curated by historian Joan Esculies was inaugurated at the Barcelona council building yesterday. The date is not random: 40 years ago yesterday, that is, in 1977, the formerly exiled Catalan President made his first trip to Madrid to meet Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez to negotiate his return as president of the Generalitat and the return of self-government to Catalonia. Attending the inauguration, current Catalan President Carles Puigdemont described Tarradellas’ actions as “politics with a capital P”. In a context where the commitment of all sides was needed, Tarradellas and the political class of the time responded to the great desire of society. “People would not have understood if it had not been done purely due to a legal technicality,” Puigdemont stressed, drawing a clear parallel with the current situation and Madrid’s blockade of the Catalan referendum on 1st October.

The exhibition, which has a large amount of photographic and documentary material on display, is dedicated to “constructing the return” of Tarradellas and how “a legal measure was agreed” to make it possible. Among the more significant phrases included is one that Tarradellas said to Suárez on June 27, 1977 : “Do not forget that a head of government who does not know how to solve the problem of Catalonia endangers the monarchy.”

The negotiations, both with Suárez and with the Catalan parties, “were not simple,” but ended up being fruitful, with a bilateral agreement made prior to the drafting and approval of the Spanish Constitution, whereby the Spanish State agreed to restore the Generalitat and repeal Franco’s decree annulling the Catalan Statute.