The events in Catalonia and the resulting social context have caused a climate of maximum political saturation in the rest of the State. Never in the history of democracy have nationalism and the Senate been as important as they are at this moment. But not everything is positive or negative, and let me explain.
The X in the equation to be solved is to know the difference between nationalism and separatism, a question that state parties are trying to encompass with the sole purpose of obtaining an evident electoral benefit by mixing apples and oranges, which, although both are fruits, are not the same.
To speak of independence or self-determination processes is to understand that the basic principles of politics (dialogue, responsibility, and consensus) are failing, on one side or the other. In these cases, when we look back to learn from history, we observe that in politics, decisions taken by imposition either do not last long, or time makes them short-lived.
Nationalisms seek spaces for dialogue, meeting points, multilateral relations where interlocutors, through consensus and peace, try to build new scenarios where different nationalities feel comfortable. Our nationalism does not seek confrontation, irritation, or tension, but we defend a democratic, humble, welcoming, and inclusive nationalism, cosmopolitan, adapted to the European framework and a tangible reality that must lead to a new Spanish State, with a new political system. Understanding that Europe has changed, that the Spanish State has changed, and that the Canary Islands have matured.
I am a nationalist, a very convinced nationalist, a nationalist who believes in the Europe of the peoples, a nationalist who understands the Spanish State as a mixture of cultural identities seeking a common space yet to be defined, a nationalist who understands the Canary Islands as a people in which, as Plato said in one of his quotes, "The whole is more than the sum of its parts."
Nationalists in the Canary Islands must fight and defend any process that brings greater efficiency in self-management, because it is no longer just about territorial distribution, it is about understanding that the closer the decision-making, the faster it is. A nationalism of effectiveness, efficiency, and efficacy, and that requires a new territorial paradigm.
By David Toledo Niz, National Secretary General of the Nationalist Youth of the Canary Islands,
