The history of Catalan scouting is linked to the development and maintenance of the Catalan identity, especially during the Franco regime, when political organizations and institutions were prohibited. It is the general frame of reference that is presented in the book L’escoltisme català 1911-1978 (Albert Balcells, Genís Samper) and where the emphasis is placed on the relevance of this movement for generations of children and young people during the dictatorship. Scouting as learning through action, commitment to the group, life in the open air, knowledge and esteem of the country.
The role of this movement in the construction of the Catalan social and political fabric has returned to the Parliament, where on Wednesday a bill for the recognition of scouting was approved. The proposal underlines the historical role and also seeks to legally cover the Catalan Federation of Escolisme i Guiatge, separated from the Spanish federation in this 21st century. A legal framework since the years of the process have also taken their toll on relations with the Spanish federation and they want to shield their international presence. The law was approved with the votes of Junts, ERC, the CUP and En Comú Podem.
Francesc Ten, Junts deputy, said during the presentation of the proposition that scouting is “a state structure” that made it possible to deal with “interruptions in the development of the Catalan nation”. A vision with different nuances depending on the political party.
Scouting was founded by Robert Baden-Powell in England, who created the boy-scouts in 1907, and was introduced to Catalonia in 1927 by Josep Maria Batista i Roca, an ethnologist, sovereignist nationalist and interested in national youth training. . The emergence took place during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, explains Eduard Vallory, social analyst and author of L’escoltisme mundial (ed Proa), which follows a logic of educating “citizens and not subjects”. An explosion that occurs when the pedagogical renewal movements of the 1920s are held back and the context of openness and Catalanism are held back
This boom was later linked to the movement that operated during the dictatorship, which was reorganized at the end of the 40s by the hand of Mossèn Batlle, in a situation of illegality and with the protection of the church. The Franco regime had unified the entire organization dedicated to young people in the Youth Front. Scouting therefore opens a window of freedom and Catalanism.
There are many visions and opinions about a movement with a long history, with both Catholic and secular roots, which has suffered internal divisions and which marked positions in favor of the 1-O referendum. But regardless of the differences, there are many politicians who in their youth went through the escort groups. Pasqual Maragall, Joaquim Nadal, Dolors Montserrat, Ernest Benach, Josep Lluís Carod-Rovira, Irene Rigau… just to name a few, looking back. President Aragonès was also. In 1997, the Parliament created the first Associació Nacional Parlamentària Escolta (Anpec), which is renewed each legislature and which experienced tense moments in 2017.
Scouting acted as a training ground for many leaders who took the reins first in the transition, with a more transversal character, and later with a more nationalist and pro-independence accent. In addition to the Catalan grounds, Vallory highlights that the escort educational model based on the link but also the development of current skills are keys to a future political and social commitment.
With a 20-year difference in involvement in an escort group, the deputy Gemma Lienas (PSC), and Fabian Mohedano, who presided over Anpec (ERC) narrate personal and different experiences with a common thread. Lienas joined a group in the early 60’s interested in the stories that a friend of hers told her. “She was a bubble of freedom,” she explains. On Saturdays she moved away from a patriarchal family model, she began to approach feminism, she went on excursions, participated in film forums, they talked about politics, philosophy in her language, Catalan. A world that had nothing to do with official culture. The group was in Sant Gervasi.
Mohedano attended the L’Hospitalet group in the 80s. The son of Andalusians, he learned to speak Catalan when teaching at school was still scarce. “I learned esteem for nature, I got to know Catalonia, concern for public space, commitment.” He has no doubt that this secular group opened a new path for him.
More than 20,000 children and young people today participate in the escort movement. In 2020, the true Chirucas were manufactured again.
