The 1812 Overture: Búger

An overture is not just an orchestral work, it is also a proposal. In 1812, the overture in the tiny village of Búger was such that its proposal to be an independent administration was accepted. It seceded from the union with its neighbour Campanet, and so became what it is today, the smallest - by size - municipality in Mallorca.

Búger is one of those places in Mallorca that might as well, as far as the rest of the island is concerned, not exist. It isn't known for anything and has no claim to fame, other than its smallness (just over eight square kilometres) and, where English speakers are concerned, a name with an unfortunate propensity for lewdness.

Búger's 1812 overture was in effect more a case of unilaterally declaring independence. Thanks to the constitution agreed by the parliament in Cádiz in that year, places that didn't have councils were allowed to have them. If you have ever wondered why there are so many town halls and so many tiny municipalities, then you need look no further than the 1812 declaration for the answer. Two hundred years on, Búger has been celebrating its anniversary and everyone else has been arguing that it is a nonsense that there should be a town hall for such a small place and for many, many other small places in Mallorca and in Spain.

Recently, the UPyD party advanced the case for merging municipalities. It is far from alone in making such a case. The municipalities are on the lowest rung of the ladder of Spain's system of public administration, a system which, because of the cascade from the national centre to the regions, to the provinces, to the islands and then on to the municipalities, costs an absolute fortune to maintain.

It is too simplistic and convenient, however, to believe that municipalities could be merged or local government rationalised by merely sweeping them away. In believing this, one is confronted by at least 200 years of history (more in fact in the case of other towns). One is also confronted by a principle of localism enshrined in the Cádiz declaration. This principle had been borrowed from the French and the "commune", established early on during the French Revolution as the lowest level of public administration.

In September 2007, the one-time editor of "The Times", Simon Jenkins, wrote a passionate defence of localism in which he made reference to the French commune. His point, or one of them, was that, through decentralisation to even the tiniest of administrations (and some French communes are miniscule by comparison with the likes of Búger), local issues were resolved that much more satisfactorily. The main point was that such localism is the best form of democracy because citizen involvement is devolved to the smallest possible unit.

Jenkins drew a comparison between these small units and the smallest unit of democratic administration in Britain which covers an average of 118,000 people. Búger has a population of just over 1,000 people. In terms of inhabitants, it isn't the smallest municipality; Escorca with under 300 people is. The contrast with what, on average, are far larger administrative units in Britain is stark. But this contrast is not solely one of size, it is also one of mentality and identity.

In Britain, the loss of a sense of community is something that is often bemoaned, and successive reorganisations of local government have helped to reinforce this loss and to also make the principle of highly localised government seem anachronistic. The British mentality veers towards the pragmatic, but pragmatism is hard to establish in local administration when there are barriers of local identity and centuries of history.

Britain's insular mentality is, like its system of local government, on nothing like the scale of typical Mallorcan insularity. For many Mallorcans, this insularity is not the island but the village, the family and the network. And for these many Mallorcans, their identity is threatened not just by arguments that would see their councils and mayors abandoned but also by an attack on their language. It is not untypical, especially in times of crisis, such as at present, for there to be a retrenchment into the comfort of identity, and this means the local community. Disruption of this comfort leads to social dislocation and/or dissent. It is disruption that can come at a price.

Jenkins' view of localism can be criticised for being overly romantic. The system doesn't, for all manner of reasons, work satisfactorily in Mallorca. But it is one with which people identify. It is not pragmatic, it is anachronistic, it is hugely expensive, but in 200 years time will Búger be celebrating its four hundredth anniversary of independence?


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.


Index for April 2012

Argentina: Repsol nationalisation - 19 April 2012
Attractions and all-inclusives - 24 April 2012
Balearic Symphony Orchestra - 6 April 2012
Búger: 200 years of independence - 30 April 2012
Charity and expats - 15 April 2012
Coast law reform - 13 April 2012
Culture: shows and presentation - 27 April 2012
Drunken tourism: tackling - 9 April 2012
Eden Hotels - 21 April 2012
English-speaking radio - 14 April 2012
Es Trenc beach - 4 April 2012
Expat division on social lines - 2 April 2012
Freedom of information: Spain - 8 April 2012
Hotel conversion and town halls - 10 April 2012
IVA increase in 2013 - 28 April 2012
Jumeirah Port Sóller Hotel & Spa - 29 April 2012
King Juan Carlos' apology - 20 April 2012
Palma Sunday trading - 18 April 2012
Palma's logo and slogan - 5 April 2012
Partido Popular: Pastor will not stand - 25 April 2012
Pollensa blue flags - 22 April 2012
Pollensa military theme park (April Fool) - 1 April 2012
Puerto Alcúdia boat and cuttlefish fair - 23 April 2012
Puerto Alcúdia market - 7 April 2012
Republicanism - 16 April 2012
Sa Pobla Jazz Festival - 17 April 2012
Tourism law: hotels and secondary activities - 12 April 2012
Tourism law: slowness in legislation - 26 April 2012
Tourist tax - 3 April 2012
Town hall mergers - 11 April 2012