Catalonia declares culture as an essential good

The Calders bookstore in Barcelona in July, after being able to reopen its doors due to the pandemic.MASSIMILIANO MINOCRI / EL PAÍS

On March 13, museums, theaters, concert halls, bookstores and cinemas closed their doors abruptly to prevent the advance of the pandemic without knowing when or how they would reopen.

Cultural facilities were the first to react to the declaration of a state of alarm, affecting hundreds of cultural companies and thousands of workers who had to take advantage of an ERTE, in the best of cases, after the cessation of all activity.

The economic figures are more than eloquent of the setback that covid-19 has represented for the world of culture.

So that this does not happen again, the Government has declared Culture this morning as an essential good, equating it with the other classic legs of the welfare state such as health, education and social services.

The declaration will allow that in case of new states of alarm, due to the worsening of the pandemic, bookstores, museums, concert halls and theaters can remain open as is a supermarket or a pharmacy, although it will not avoid being affected by the restrictions that they establish health authorities.

The statement starts from the request that Torra made to the former Minister of Culture Mariángela Vilallonga on August 25, to also respond to one of the claims that the sector has made in recent months.

Almost a month later, and with a new counselor in the Department, Àngels Ponsa, after the sudden dismissal of Vilallonga, the Government has announced this agreement.

According to the spokesperson, Meritxell Budó, the declaration is part of "a plan to preserve culture in the face of new restrictions and establish a series of actions that cover the cultural rights of citizens and creative sectors."

As President Torra did in the plenary session on the 16th, Budó, has assured that the pandemic "has made it clear that culture and its expressions have been fundamental to be able to face the situation of isolation."

For this reason, "it is about seeing how we can work to protect it and, depending on how the pandemic evolves, we will go one way or another."

The Catalan government understands that it is necessary "to ensure more firmly so that access to culture is guaranteed, as well as the right of all cultural agents, especially in the creative sector, to be able to recover their activity".

All in all, the agreement is still a declaration of intent.

According to Budó, to questions from journalists, "from now on it will be necessary to reel off and develop how this statement is specified, both at this time of the pandemic and in the future."

"It will not be an easy road," Torra told the deputies last week;

“We will have to develop and approve the essential regulatory changes so that this recognition can be made, and also those of fundamental cultural rights, which must guarantee the continuity of cultural activities despite the restrictions that the pandemic may impose. ”.

With this Tuesday's agreement, Catalonia joins what countries such as Germany have done, which in March included culture in the financial rescue scheduled by Angela Merkel, allowing, among other things, that all cultural agents could access the fund of 120,000 million euros to sustain employment.

This same Tuesday, the spokespersons of the Senate groups have asked that the Congress of Deputies end up making this same statement and similar initiatives have emerged in communities such as Andalusia and the Canary Islands.