From Left-Wing Resistance to Conservative Rule
On Wednesday 09 September 2026, renewed attention is being paid to the political transformation of Catalonia during the post-Franco transition, following the publication of historian Eloi Gummà's book De l’antifranquisme al pujolisme, released in June 2026 by Akal as part of the Veus de Clio collection. Gummà, a Barcelona-born economist and historian, argues that the rise of Jordi Pujol’s Convergència i Unió (CiU) was not an organic continuation of the anti-Franco democratic opposition but a deliberate historical shift driven by class reaction. His thesis challenges the widely held narrative that CiU inherited the mantle of Catalan self-government naturally from the left-led resistance. Instead, he asserts that business elites and conservative forces across Spain actively worked to prevent leftist parties such as the PSUC (Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia) from gaining control of the Generalitat. The aim, according to Gummà, was to dismantle the social power of the left and replace progressive Catalan nationalism with a conservative, neoliberal model aligned with global trends under Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.
A Shift Forged by Elites
The book traces this political realignment from Franco’s death through CiU’s unexpected victory in the 1980 regional elections and into later events such as the Banca Catalana case, which symbolised the entanglement of politics, finance, and conservative interests. Gummà frames this period as a precise autopsy of the left’s defeat and the consolidation of a new hegemony. He details how employers' organisations and state-level conservative actors helped replace a militant, popular Catalan movement with a top-down, institutionally focused nationalism centred on Pujol’s personal leadership.
Com va passar Catalunya de ser el gran bastió de l’esquerra europea a viure dècades sota l’hegemonia de Jordi Pujol?
This central question, posed repeatedly across promotional material for the book, underscores its mission: to re-examine foundational myths of modern Catalan politics. While acknowledging the crucial role of communist and socialist networks in sustaining civil society under dictatorship, Gummà cautions against idealising the unified anti-Franco front. He notes that democratic consolidation required integrating broader sectors beyond activist circles, and that Pujol’s dominance was sustained despite persistent left-wing strength in municipal governments and lower voter turnout in regional elections.
Contextualising the Narrative
The work builds on historiographical traditions championed by scholars like Pere Ysàs and Carme Molinero, and was developed under the supervision of historian Xavier Domènech, who also wrote the foreword. Published amid ongoing debates about Catalonia’s political identity, De l’antifranquisme al pujolisme offers a rigorously argued account of how economic and ideological currents reshaped national aspirations. The 416-page volume, priced at €22, is available through multiple Catalan booksellers including Llibreria Sarri, Parcir, and Drac Màgic, and is listed by the Generalitat’s official bookstore [llibreria.gencat.cat](https://llibreria.gencat.cat).
Primary sources: llibreria.gencat.cat, eb.gencat.cat, LLIBRESGENCAT. Reported by llegim.ara.cat, racodelllibre.cat, onallibres.cat, llibreriasarri.com, vanlett.com, parcir.com, elcritic.cat, llibreriadracmagic.net, todostuslibros.com, debatspeldema.org.
