"Fascism is in the veins of millions of Spaniards." This is what the Hispanist and writer Ian Gibson told Catalunya Ràdio this Sunday. The Irish writer, who has just published Ligero de equipaje, a graphic novel on the life of Antonio Machado, was speaking about the famous Spanish poet - but also about 21st century Spain.
Gibson affirms that Machado, part of Spain's literary "Generation of 1898" would not like Spain very much today. "He prioritized dialogue, listened to the other side..." The Hispanist argues that "Machado would have liked the country to be calmer and more willing to talk." "I am not a political scientist, nor am I tied to anyone but it is difficult with the independence issue and the tension. All this has led to the rise of Vox."
And he insists: "Machado would emphasize dialogue." "To engage in dialogue means listening to the other and learning from the other." "Here (in Madrid) people shout a lot. Everyone speaks and nobody listens. I don't know if the same thing happens in Catalonia" and he asks: "How do you talk with someone if you know they'll never change?"
So why does Ian Gibson think that far-right Vox has surged to become Spain's third largest party? "It was the reaction to the situation in Catalonia. Francoism, fascism is in the veins of million of Spaniards. The sacred unity of Spain was inculcated into them."
Gibson says the idea that Spanish unity is "desired by God" ties with the notion of the Reconquista. "And as well," he says "with fanaticism. What do you do with people like that? It's difficult to have a dialogue, but you've got to keep trying to teach them history. I think that the Spanish right does not know its own history. There's an amnesia."
"I see that nobody talks about the Spanish republic. I think the Spanish federal republic would be possible but very few people talk about it," says the Irish expert on Spanish culture.