“Neither Brexit, nor Lexit, nor any nonsense that implies independence.” These were the words of the think tank Unidad Leonesa, chaired by the former director general of the Book, Rogelio Blanco, who is calling for provincial autonomy and a distribution of ministries between León and Ponferrada that would allow the capital of El Bierzo to be the seat of three of the nine departments of that hypothetical community. And all “through peaceful and legal means,” said the group’s spokesman, Javier Callado, at a press conference held at the Temple Hotel in Ponferrada. “In León we are not into burning containers, or killing people with a shot to the head,” he said.
Unidad Leonesa aims to stir up the debate, also in El Bierzo, and to achieve that León becomes a provincial autonomy. “In León we cannot resolve the problems of Zamora and Salamanca,” said Callado, aware that the Leonese sentiment has not penetrated into these two provinces that are also part of the historical region of León. Callado believes that Ponferrada must have civil servants from these three ministries of a hypothetical León Regional Government because the administration staff, with their salaries and their consumption, are also an economic engine.
What Unidad Leonesa is not clear about is how the current El Bierzo Council would fit into this Leonese autonomy. “That would have to be decided by the people of El Bierzo,” said Callado, without ruling out that the regional administration, which the Junta de Castilla y León has deliberately refused to develop after its creation in 1991, could also become a valid management instrument within this future autonomy that they are defending.
Unidad Leonesa insisted that with provincial autonomy, the people of El Bierzo and Lacia would have better services. And he gave as an example the “indescribable” situation of the Hospital of El Bierzo, where there is a shortage of 25 percent of doctors. “It is a disgrace,” he said. “A resident of Fornela has to be treated for cancer in Ponferrada and not in León, because he will die on the way,” he said.
Callado insisted that the Constitution allows autonomy for León through Article 144. It is only necessary to “convince” the leaders of the major national parties to find the necessary support in Parliament. “In politics, things change very quickly,” he said, after insisting that León has entered into decline since it was integrated into an autonomous region with Castile.
And all this without complexes, Rogelio Blanco had insisted at the beginning of the long press conference. “If they want to call us hicks (for asking for autonomy), we are hicks, boors and here today, Bercians,” said the writer and pedagogue, philosopher and sociologist from Cepeda, the most recognizable face of the debate group that raises the flag of provincial autonomy.
