What is our culture, according to Vox?
The party opposes the Islamic veil, halal menus and the regularization of immigrants, but rejects requiring Catalan as a tool for integration.
PalmVox has launched several parliamentary initiatives against the use of the Islamic veil and the menus halal in schools. It has also positioned itself against the regularization of immigrants proposed by the Spanish government. All of this, as the party spokesperson, Manuela Cañadas, has insisted on several occasions, is with the aim of preserving "our culture." But, when asked whether immigrants should learn Catalan, as requested by the First Vice President, Antoni Costa, Cañadas did not consider it necessary. "What they should speak first is Spanish, and integrate into the customs here," she said at a press conference. What are these customs, according to Vox?
Vox has a view of Spain as an indivisible nation and rejects the idea that minority languages of the State (such as Catalan) should have their own status. In fact, the regional leader of Vox, Gabriel Le Senne, denies the unity of the Catalan language. Furthermore, the party advocates for the elimination of the autonomous communities and a total centralization of power in Madrid. So, what, according to this party, is Mallorcan culture? "The fabrics of tongues, the senallons and the palms (...), the Sant Antoni festival," defined the Vox spokesperson in Manacor, Esteve Sureda, in a recent interview on the ARA BalearesBeyond that, Vox appeals to a general idea of Spain, vindicates its imperialist past, and links its culture to Western civilization. It also boasts of its roots in Christianity and the conservative values of the State, in contrast to what its leaders call "globalism" and "multiculturalism," and ignores the historical ties of the Balearic Islands with the Arab world.
In contrast, Vox does emphasize the State's ties with Latin America through the concept of the "Iberosphere," which also includes Portugal and aspires to create an area of influence against left-wing governments. "The threat to the Iberosphere is common to all countries, and its consequences have been seen in countries like Cuba, Venezuela, Argentina, and Chile," said Vox's national leader, Santiago Abascal, in a party statement"More than 700 million people are part of the Iberosphere, a community of free and sovereign nations that share a deep-rooted cultural heritage," the same document stated.
"Vox is a political space with great internal pluralism regarding how it defines Spanish national identity," notes political analyst Toni Fornés. "There is a consensus to define a single, monolithic Spanish people, which justifies its centralist stance, opposed to recognizing the diversity of the different territories and nationalities," he believes. "But the Iberosphere has generated internal conflict between the more fundamentalist current, closer to Falangism, which applies a much harsher immigration policy, and the one with an imperial vocation, which recognizes the Hispanic peoples and includes them in the project of Spanish nation-building," he adds. "Vox establishes a confrontation with a Western, Catholic society against an element it labels as an invader, with a different skin tone or religion, and which it presents as a threat," he summarizes.
Journalist and far-right expert Xavier Rius defines the concept of the Iberosphere as follows: "It's the Spain of Don Pelayo and Isabella the Catholic, who, once the Peninsula was recovered, brought the values of Christianity to the American continent." "Vox empathizes much more with its Latin American allies than, for example, with its counterparts in France led by Marine Le Pen, since they share a more traditional view of the family," he continues. That's why, he warns, "the far right directs its anti-immigration rhetoric against Asians, Muslims, and Africans."
