¿Pueden los políticos afectar la imagen de marca de un país o una región?

¿Pueden los políticos afectar la imagen de marca de un país o una región?

Bullfighting in Catalonia

The land of the ban

First the burqa, now the bullfight. What will Catalonia outlaw next?

That’s quite enough of that

ON JULY 28th Catalonia’s regional parliament outlawed bullfighting. It is a bit like a German state banning wurst or a French region condemning those pesky berets.

As is the way in fiercely independent Catalonia, the debate over bullfighting became caught up in regional politics. Many Catalans are concerned less about animal welfare than they are about rejecting the bull as a symbol of Spain and distancing Catalonia from Spaniards’ habit of referring to the corrida as the “national fiesta”.

One local newspaper reported that several nationalist parliamentarians had decided to back the ban as “revenge” for a recent decision by Spain’s constitutional court to strike down parts of Catalonia’s autonomy charter, approved by Catalans in a referendum four years ago. Never mind that bullfighting, although in decline in this part of Spain, was once an important part of local culture, or that plenty of Catalans find other ways of tormenting bulls at village fiestas.

Catalans are getting a taste for outlawing whatever irks them. The bar on bullfighting follows a decision by many Catalan towns and cities to ban the Islamic face-covering veil in municipal buildings. Parties are competing to come up with French-style proposals for taking burqa bans further, even though the garment is rarely seen on Catalan streets.

This spasm of intolerance has been incited by campaigns for elections to the Catalan parliament, which are due in late autumn. Many Catalans are tired of the uneasy three-way coalition of socialists, greens and separatists that has governed the region since 2003. Polls predict victory for the business-friendly Convergence and Union coalition (CiU), which preaches greater autonomy for Catalonia but not independence. By providing CiU with a mandate to press for reforms at national level, the return of the nationalists may be good for Spain’s economy, but the impact on Catalonia itself is more difficult to predict. Reaffirming the region’s Catalan identity, and use of the Catalan language, will still be priorities. The politicians are worried, but at least the bulls can sleep easier

via www.economist.com

Aunque esté en inglés, el argumento principal de este artículo del Economist, se entiende fácil. Primero fue el burka y ahora los toros: ¿se está volviendo Cataluña una región intransigente?

¿Es posible que este tipo de movimientos lleguen a afectar adversamente su imagen exterior, hasta ahora contemporánea, cosmopolita y tolerante?

Indica tu Nombre y tu correo electrónico para apuntarte a la asesoría gratuita

Indica tu Nombre y tu correo electrónico y recibirás el enlace para descargarte tu ebook gratuito