The division of the Poor Clares of Burgos is not the only declaration of independence in Castilla y León these days. This is because the Provincial Council has taken the lead of some municipal councils in the region who want a León independent of Castilla and therefore Valladolid.

And this is not the first time Leon has tried to achieve independence.

What happened? On Wednesday 26 June, the general assembly of the Leon Provincial Council approved a motion for Leonese autonomy with 13 votes in favor of PSOE and UPL (Union of Leonese People) and 11 votes against Vox and the People’s Party. The aim is to request the Junta de Castilla y León to initiate procedures to create an autonomous community for the Leonese Region.

Support from city councils. The positive vote of the Provincial Council of Leon is added to the positive vote of the 63 municipal councils in the province that have previously approved such initiatives, and is protected by Article 2 of the Spanish Constitution, which recognizes the right to autonomy. Territories, as long as they do not conflict with the “indivisible unity of the Spanish Nation.”

The People’s Party, on the other hand, submitted a proposal implying “beneficial Leonism” to increase investments in the province, but it was rejected by PSOE and UPL. Gerardo Álvarez Courel (PSOE), president of the General Assembly, stated that we must “demand the Board and the Government to strictly comply with León.” But why?

Kingdom of Leon and Crown of CastileThe aim of this claim of Leonese Autonomy is to “reverse the current state of grievances in the region, as it is the only historical region of Spain that is not autonomous”. The kingdom of León was founded in 910, when the capital of the kingdom of Asturias was moved from Oviedo to León. The city played a leading role in the Reconquista, from which kingdoms such as Castile and Portugal were born, and the unification of the kingdoms took place in 1230.

Later, between 1296 and 1301, León regained its independence due to a succession dispute, but was eventually reintegrated as part of the Kingdom of Castile. It returned to autonomy in 1833, when it became the capital of its province and a nominal León Region was formed, along with Zamora and Salamanca.

Leon without Castilla is great. The structure was preserved during the Franco regime, but in 1983 the new restructuring of the Autonomous Communities was carried out, in which some without historical roots were identified, but León was excluded. Therein lies the problem for many Leonians, because Leon is not independent because it depends on the community’s capital, Valladolid. In 1984, León had tried to secede from Castile and received a negative response, but it was not a categorical response because the channels for establishing autonomy were unknown.

On May 4 of that year, more than 90,000 Leonians took to the streets, shouting “Leon without Castilla is a miracle”, demanding autonomy because of their fear that all the industry and opportunities were located in Valladolid. Following this example, La Línea de la Concepción tried the same a few years ago.

motifs. This regionalist sentiment is supported by very poor demographic and industrial conditions. The city of Leon went from rapid growth in the late 90s to rapid decline since then. We increased the municipal population, which was 144,021 in 1991, to 121,281 in 2023. This population loss has also been experienced in other cities such as Ponferrada, which has lost a large portion of its population in recent years.

This loss of population and industry reinforces the sense of instability regarding Valladolid. This is something that has been reinforced in recent years due to the state’s reliance on mining, which has been set aside, and a stagnating state, with one of the oldest populations and the largest weight of pensions in GDP per capita. 40 percent of the population consists of retirees.

Solution? This independence movement bears strong parallels with those mentioned in La Línea de la Concepción or Teruel Exist, and a large part of the population feels that things would be better if it were not for this dependence on Valladolid and the centralism of the CCAA. This is due to difficulties in finding jobs, housing and the lack of infrastructure, since the community’s capital gets the best share (according to Leonese).

painted in Salamanca

The sense of belonging should not be underestimated. There is no Castilian identity, but rather a strong sense of Leonese identity, which can be seen in graffiti throughout the city reading “Llión left” – “León alone”. Or in a 1980 survey of city councils and representative bodies, only 7% supported integration with Castile. We’ll see what happens, but it’s not an unconstitutional move like in 1984.

Image | Javier Díaz Barrera, Counting the Stars, Homo Charrus

in Xataka | Duero Alto, Cabo de Peñas, Bidasoa: provincial map invented by Napoleon for Spain in 1810