FIt was an old alfoz, a group of different towns subject to the same administration, until the controversial division into provinces that the politician Javier de Burgos carried out in Spain in 1833 after the War of Independence. The history of the local entities that belonged to the “Terres de Talavera” caused the weaving of social, cultural and economic links between the municipalities that still exist today, but no longer have this recognition.
The borders of the old Talavera lands have been scattered, disintegrated and what they were then now belong to four provinces (Toledo, Cáceres, Ávila and Ciudad Real) and three autonomous communities (Castile-La Mancha, Castile and León and Extremadura).
But the feeling of belonging to a space today divided by “non-existent borders” has been maintained over time. Currently, the SOS Talavera y Comarca Platform is responsible for reviving what it considers a “historical debt” to the old alfoz. They want to recover their legal and administrative recognition from a Regional Council. And more eventually, a “sixth province” of Castilian-La Mancha.
Before the War of Independence, the boundaries of these lands were marked by the Holy Brotherhood of Talavera. They went from the city itself and its area of influence to Guadalupe, today in Cáceres; Largeurs, today in Ciudad Real, passing through the valley of the Tiétar of Ávila and the Toledan regions of La Jara, Sierra de San Vicente and Campana de Oropesa.
“The same culture, the same accent, the same heritage”
“They divided us everywhere, but the current borders do not really exist. There is currently a continuous intercommunication between all the peoples of these regions, both social and economic. We have the same culture, the same tradition, the same accent, very Extremaduran, the climate, the hydrography, the orography and the heritage,” explains Óscar Muñoz, spokesman for SOS Talavera and Comarca.
He points out that customs continue to mark him. For example, in the area of ”Siberia Extremadura”, from Herrera del Duque, to Badajoz, Talavera is a “central nucleus” for all kinds of procedures, including the Nuestra Señora del Prado Hospital. The latter also manages 30,000 health cards in the Tiétar Valley, a fact that is due to the fact that in the past the population could not cross the Sierra de Gredos to receive health care.
There are other customs and historical relationships. “We Talaverans consider the gorge of Arenas de San Pedro (Ávila) as our beach. And the same thing happens with the corner of Anchuras, which was surprisingly left in Ciudad Real at the whim of a chief. It is an incomprehensible corner, where all its inhabitants look towards Talavera in all its aspects,” he emphasizes.
The platform specifies that these “Talavera Lands” end “radially” with the city of Talavera de la Reina, which acts as the “functional capital” of all of them. “It was not created administratively as a capital but it has always functioned that way, as a crossroads.”
Since 1833, this entity has become blurred. It has been claimed for decades, but the Statute of Autonomy of Castile-La Mancha of 1982 “has not at any time reflected this singularity, this social reality.”
There is currently a draft reform of the Statute of Autonomy, agreed between the PSOE and the PP, already registered as a bill in the Cortes of Castilla-La Mancha. But it does not reflect this reality either.
In the draft of this document, in the section on the territorial organization of the autonomous community, the recognition of the regions within each province is included, taking into account their historical character or the circumstances of common economic and social development. But it does not name or specify them. “Hence our insistence,” adds Óscar Muñoz.
The jobs on this platform are not new. Since it began operating eight years ago, it has promoted citizen mobilizations that are not limited to a petition drawn on a map. They are convinced that a legal and administrative recognition of the “Talavera Lands” would also put an end to the “marginalization” that, according to them, this area suffers.
Part of this work was reflected in the Table for the Recovery of Talavera and the Regions, chaired by Rosa de los Ríos with the presence of social and economic groups, the City Council and municipal political parties. Currently, the local PSOE, the local PP, the regional party Nuestros Talavera and Unidas Talavera have signed a petition addressed to President Emiliano García-Page and the leader of the regional PP, Paco Núñez, for the creation of a regional council with an administrative entity. own.
The Table Agreement, which you have had access to elDiarioclm.esrequests that in the aforementioned chapter of the territorial organization of the autonomous community, the “Terres de Talavera” be recognized for their historical and cultural trajectory.
“There are already similar models outside the autonomy statutes, such as the Council of Bierzo. And that is why it has been proven that this would benefit us, because in this way the regional budgets would be managed from a regional point of view, with a final destination, taking into account real needs,” says Muñoz.
We understand that our social and cultural reality is eclipsed and phagocytized in the province of Toledo.
The “Tierras de Talavera” would be formed, in the province of Toledo, by the Regions of La Jara, Sierra de San Vicente, La Campana de Oropesa as well as the urban area Valle del Tajo up to the municipality of Carpio de Tajo. La Jara Extremadura, Los Ibores, Campo Arañuelo and Guadalupe are also among the regions. In total, a zone of influence of 130,000 people.
But with SOS they go much further. “We understand that our social and cultural reality is eclipsed and submerged in the province of Toledo. We do not feel identified or represented in the province. And that is why we have been working for a long time to achieve, in the long term, a sixth province, a provincial emancipation. Toledo and Talavera are two antagonistic realities.
For this platform, achieving a Talavera province would mean a significant social weight in the election of deputies, senators and any type of political representation. This proposal does not include in principle localities such as Guadalupe, Anchuras or those of the Tiétar Valley. It would be limited to the part that is today Toledo.
“But it is true that agreements and social agreements must be reached with the rest of the countries, because they must also decide in the future what they want to do.”
First, the Regional Council
For now, if the new Statute of Castile-La Mancha recognizes the “Terres de Talavera” as a Regional Council, this association would celebrate it but “defending that this area has always looked towards Extremadura.”
The proposal for a sixth province was debated and analyzed at the Table for the Recovery of Talavera. But since it is a representative body of many groups, the consensus is “fundamental.” “We must work in the short term because the reform of the Statute is already in the Cortes and now it is appropriate to bet on the recognition of the Regional Council to manage the resources. Another thing is that we think it is not enough, but it is a first step to continue working.
The importance of the document signed by the local parties is latent. On February 23, the president of the Podemos Talavera and Comarcas party, José María García Montesino, presented a proposal at the municipal plenary session of Talavera to submit to the Regional Cortes a joint request to provide the “Terres de Talavera” with a Local Council. None of the 25 councilors were in favor.
Subsequently, this party also filed its own petition with the Cortes of Castilla-La Mancha on June 26 for the inclusion of this request in the new Statute of Autonomy. The Parliamentary Commission became aware of it on July 1.
