Ernest Urtasun (Barcelona, ??1982) has just installed a small poster of a musician he admires, the Galician Xoel López, in his new office in Madrid’s Plaza del Rey. He is still presided over by the work of Ouka Leele that was put up by his predecessor, Miquel Iceta, and there are sporting memories in a ministry that has lost the competitions.
Declared anti-bullfighting, Urtasun’s arrival at Cultura has alerted the world of bullfighting, which has even invited him to a bullfight, and as soon as he landed he was involved in a strange controversy with the Community of Madrid, which accused him of wanting to dismantle the Prado by a program that the museum itself created a year ago to better manage the funds it has in deposit throughout Spain, in some cases for more than a century.
Urtasun assures that he wants to be a “protectionist” minister, that his commitment is to the rights to access and practice of culture, that his first law will be that of Cinema and that in the face of censorship he will always be at the side of creators of the films. who, he assures, knows well its precariousness.
Although he did not want to leave, his predecessor arrived at Culture without wanting to. How did you get there?
It was one of Sumar’s priorities in this mandate, we were very clear that Culture was one of the portfolios we wanted. Take care of the culture of this country, which is a fundamental sector, linked to new cultural rights and a very important industry. It seemed to us that we could contribute a lot.
Anti-bullfighting communist, representative of the ecopija Catalan left, did you expect such a harsh media reception?
There are sectors of the right in Spain that cannot stand the existence of a progressive coalition government and react virulently to any presence of ours in the government. They’re going to have to get used to it. There is a coalition government and Sumar’s presence in the government for many years.
Are bulls culture? They are in his ministry, which awards a National Bullfighting award.
My position on bullfighting is known. Traditions, like everything in life, evolve. I believe that there is a majority of Spanish society that does not agree with animal torture and from here on, the decisions I make, I can guarantee, will be based on dialogue and listening to everyone.
At his inauguration he pointed out that today there is more interest in cultural wars than in culture. What role should the ministry you lead have there?
Culture is going to be a fundamental element of strengthening democracy in our country. And from that point of view I think there are great things to do. First of all, we want to support cultural creation a lot. There is a support deficit. These are not only scholarships, they are also spaces for creation. Let’s focus on that. Secondly, we are clear that culture is an important industry in this country. And it is not only GDP, but also what allows our artists to express themselves. Therefore we are going to take great care of it, to protect it. In the globalized and liberalized world, I want to be a protectionist minister of the cultural industry and Spanish creation.
And then there is access to culture. Cultural public policies in Europe have evolved towards the centrality of cultural rights. The ability for citizens to be receivers but also emitters of culture will be at the center of my management. And we are also going to develop these issues with the defense of cultural heritage in Spain, of museums. All of these things largely constitute democracy in Spain.
Do you want it to be a more combative, more political ministry?
When one takes charge of a ministry, one takes charge of the management of public affairs, of common goods, of shared well-being, that is evidently political. I am going to try to be a minister who generates consensus, it is my way of working: I am, I think, very open to dialogue. In the European Parliament I am used to closing agreements with people who think very differently. This is what I am going to try to do, but also carrying out initiatives that are very important to me.
Is culture at the center of the battlefield today?
I cited Semprún at my inauguration because it is the expression of what we are as Europeans and what we have inherited. What we have inherited is culture as a pillar of our democracy. The fight against barbarism and the defeat of Nazi-fascism after the Second World War is what has defined and built our democracies based on culture.
Today reactionary forces are advancing throughout Europe and fundamental pillars of democracy are being questioned. I have seen in Brussels how the Hungarian government closed universities, how associations and journalists were persecuted. We have a fight in defense of democracy in Europe in which the Spanish Government plays a very important role as one of the most progressive and pro-European. And culture is going to be one of the elements that reinforce democracy.
How is all this financed? Will your budget grow?
We are going to open a dialogue with the communities, which have transferred competence in cultural matters, but also with the Treasury, to see how we can facilitate and continue supporting culture. Of course, it is my desire to open a dialogue with the Treasury to see how we can help culture more from the budget. And also about patronage.
Does the Patronage Law then not plan to recover it as it was about to be approved?
Many legislative initiatives fell due to the electoral call. I have a great priority: the first law that I am going to try to unblock is the Cinema law because it already enjoyed great consensus in the sector. There are things to correct. I am meeting with the entire sector to reinvigorate it. I know that the definition of an independent producer worries you and we are going to see how it is established in the law. And there are more things that we have to get out. The Artistic Education Law also declined. And it is going to be very important: how culture and education work together, that law was fundamental for us.
And that of Patronage also declined. I believe in that law, obviously I’m going to have to see the contents, but we’re going to give it a boost. Anglo-Saxon culture is much more focused on patronage, ours is cultural promotion from the public budget. And we must open up patronage more and more, I am a supporter. The figures we have now are a little insufficient, we surely need that law, but I want to study it. We will take it forward.
The cultural rights you speak of, what do they entail and what financial resources do they require?
First, the right of access to culture. May it reach the entire territory. Then, there is a right to be a cultural transmitter: that those who want to participate in the cultural life of the country, which is all citizens, can do so. That is why we must take care of creation, that there are scholarships, spaces, and citizens are allowed to express themselves culturally. And there is another fundamental pillar, I would say even the first, which is the right to freedom of expression. We have seen in recent months how censorship returned. I want to be clear: this ministry is going to be at the side of the creators and we are not going to tolerate acts of censorship, for whatever reason.
When you say you are next to the artists, what are you thinking about?
Politically, defending them, and then there can be all kinds of casuistries, punishments regarding the withdrawal of subsidies that we can try to correct, judicial litigation. It will be seen on a case by case basis, but I will stand by any censored artist. We will not tolerate it.
Will the Statute of the Artist finally end this term?
It’s fundamental. The fight against the precariousness of our artists is going to be a priority. I take responsibility for the precariousness in which many live. Great progress has already been made, for example in labor matters, but there are still things to close. Particularly, issues that have to do with social contributions, with taxation, for example in intermittency. And the labor transition: there are artists who from a certain age cannot practice their profession and this transition must be contemplated by public policies.
Semprún spoke of the need to decentralize the ministry’s budget. Iceta said that it could not be the Great Department of Culture of the Community of Madrid. What do you want to do?
For me it will be a priority that culture reaches every corner of the country. Obviously cities are the great cultural engines, but we have the responsibility to ensure that it reaches the entire territory. Those are equipment, but not only, although also. By the way, one of the projects that I would like to finish is the State Library that is being built in Barcelona, ??a very nice project that we hope to finish in this term. But one of the things I want to work on a lot with communities is how we bring culture to every corner. There are very valuable initiatives, such as the Extended Prado. The Prado Museum, with 50 museums throughout Spain, collaborates so that its works reach all Spaniards.
Are initiatives like that, which has caused controversy these days, sufficient, or does it contemplate, as some request, the better distribution of resources and acquisitions?
In the Prado Extendido controversy, I was surprised that the Community of Madrid questions the national character of the museum. The Prado belongs to all citizens. And that initiative was launched a year ago and the Community of Madrid said nothing. By the way, it is one of the most benefited communities, several Community centers participate. I think that this is a good policy and regarding the rest of the issues it is the ministry’s will to participate in as many museums as possible. We are already part of the board of a good number, and later if there are more formulas, we will study them.
One of the controversies of the last legislature was the creation of a museum decolonization commission. Will you create one?
We have inherited a colonial culture and many countries around us already address this issue. I have lived these years in Belgium, which had a museum about the terrifying Congo, and has made a policy in that sense. I want to see how we deal with it, but of course the inherited colonial culture will have to be addressed.
Another of the hot potatoes that he inherits is the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music, which everyone wants to reform and is increasingly insufficient.
It is my wish that the Inaem reform be carried out this term. I know it has been promised in recent years, but it has not been done. Inaem has two functions: subsidies and aid and the management of our large centers. It is important to be able to advance in greater efficiency and agility. I know that in large centers there are difficulties for tours, productions. We need to do them in a more agile way. I want to carry out the reform with two fundamental criteria: the public nature of Inaem and that it be in full dialogue with the workers and the sector.
A serious problem that the ministry has faced is the lack of personnel, which has paralyzed subsidies and dozens of rooms in museums. How to solve it?
It is one of the problems that some of our large centers and museums have conveyed to me. I am going to open a dialogue with public service to see the margins for improvement. I take responsability.
Creators and publishers are concerned about copyright in the age of artificial intelligence. What will the ministry do?
There are two things that I have followed very closely these months. One, as a parliamentarian, is the new European regulation on artificial intelligence. The other great lesson is the screenwriters’ strike in Hollywood, which was one of the great focuses of attention in terms of artificial intelligence, digitalization and copyright. Artificial intelligence is a great opportunity, but it cannot be detrimental to the rights of creators and I am committed to ensuring that it is regulated by defending their rights. I know many are concerned that I will absorb their creations and manipulate them without regard to their rights.
Jumping to Spanish politics, apart from the minimum wage, what measures do you urge Sumar to put on the table of the Council of Ministers?
We want a legislature that continues to expand rights. We came out of a situation in which we demonstrated that an economic policy completely different from that of the past could be implemented and be successful. The neoliberals told us that raising the minimum wage destroyed jobs. We have raised it by 47% and the employment data has just come out with a drop in unemployment and a record number of Social Security affiliates. We have broken myths of neoliberalism and are demonstrating that expanding rights and strengthening public services works and makes the economy work better. The Spanish economy is one of the best functioning in the euro zone. We have to continue with this policy and avoid the siren song in Europe of returning to cuts and austerity. It would be deeply wrong.
How does Podemos’ move to the mixed group affect Sumar and the legislature?
I regret that Podemos has unilaterally decided to join the mixed group and get out of a project built on the basis of the generosity of all parties and that has been decisive in stopping the right and the extreme right. And I regret that they have not respected the will of more than three million voters. I can assure you that we will work to fulfill our commitments and improve people’s lives, which is what we are here for.
