There are no objective data on how many Valencian men and women continue to decide their vote based on the anti-Catalanist narrative of the political forces that continue to use it, which are the PP and Vox. In the past, in the 1990s, the Valencian Union concentrated this profile of voters, called “blavero”, but with the passage of time, the political force created by Vicente González Lizondo was diluted in the capital: 80,500 votes in 1991 and 8 councilors, 41,000 in 1995 and 3 councilors; and 19,000 in 1999 and 0 councillors). It was a process provoked, in part, by the absorption effect of the PP and by the pacification of the linguistic conflict with the creation of the Valencian Academy of Language, AVL, promoted by Eduardo Zaplana at the request of José María Aznar (who had previously agreed with Jordi Pujol).

It is in the city of Valencia where, in the past, this political ideology emerged strongly, with very violent episodes in the 1970s and 1980s. Its implementation outside the capital was insignificant and it disappeared even more rapidly. But the strategists of the PP and Vox have been maneuvering for a long time to carry out political communication actions to try to attract, mainly in the city of Valencia, a group of voters whose, we insist, it is unknown how much they can represent in the electoral market. In the aforementioned right-wingers they comment that it is not a question of there being many or few, but rather that using this story, they affirm, has the capacity to mobilize all the Valencian right-wings, especially in the city of Valencia and also in the southern regions of Alicante, the same ones in which Vox has become strong.

This explains why the first law announced by Carlos Mazón if he manages to preside over the Generalitat Valenciana was the Identity Signs Law. A standard similar to the one approved by the Government of Alberto Fabra and which contemplated, among others, homologating the Valencian titles of the Royal Academy of Valencian Culture, RACV, and Lo Rat Penat. Also monitor and put a stop to the Valencian Academy of Language, AVL, and penalize entities that propose or carry out actions “to favor the Catalan Countries”. Similar proposals were commented on yesterday in this newspaper by Carlos Flores, Vox candidate. Both formations have warned that they will withdraw all subsidies to “entities” that qualify as Catalanists, from Acció Cultural del País Valencià (ACPV) to Escola Valenciana. This Law was repealed by the Botanic.

The PP and Vox have the announced disappearance of Ciudadanos in Valencia on the next 28M; something that will also happen to him in the Valencian Cortes. This formation obtained 68,000 votes and six councilors in 2019. Its current leader and local candidate, Fernando Giner, has distinguished himself for years by outlining a strong anti-Catalan message, including street events. For this reason, the two rights are eager to pick up that voter who has been orphaned. Part of that voter, they point out from the PP, has a strong anti-Catalan drive. That would add arguments to the hypothesis of the Valencian right to project that story to assume part or all of those votes.

The PP starts with an advantage, according to the polls. María José Catalá, the candidate of this party in Valencia, has known how to gradually incorporate messages addressed directly to that audience, as well as gestures, into her oratory. The popular one wants, as Rita Barberá did in the past, to unite all possible right-wing groups around her, leaving Vox with little margin and even with the risk of becoming weak. Catalá wants to govern alone and for this she needs the sum of her councilors to be an astral distance from what Vox can achieve. Some polls say she can do it. Until then, the anti-Catalan story will be present in the campaign.