RTVE Program Controversy
Junts demands RTVE withdraw program for 'denying Castilian imposition' in America's conquest.
Junts per Catalunya has formally demanded that RTVE pull a documentary series from the air, accusing it of denying that Spain imposed its language on indigenous peoples during the conquest of the Americas. The party's board representative, Miquel Calçada, known as "Mikimoto," presented the demand directly to RTVE President José Pablo López on June 29, 2026, according to VilaWeb.
The disputed program is *La gran aventura de la lengua española*. In one segment, veteran journalist Iñaki Gabilondo claimed the Spanish conquest "did not impose on the Amerindians the learning of Spanish." That claim sparked immediate backlash on social media and triggered formal parliamentary questions from Junts Senator Francesc Ten, El Nacional.cat reported.
How Junts Gained a Seat Inside RTVE
The crisis traces back to October 2024. The Sánchez government approved a Royal Decree-Law that expanded the RTVE Board from 10 to 15 members and lowered the voting threshold from a two-thirds majority to a simple absolute majority, according to RTVE.es. That change was key. It let smaller coalition partners name their own board representatives for the first time.
Congress confirmed 11 new board members on November 14, 2024, with 179 votes in favor. ERC named Sergi Sol, a former top strategist for Oriol Junqueras. Junts named Calçada, a veteran TV3 presenter and pro-independence activist. Both now hold formal seats inside Spain's public broadcaster, El Diario reported.
Junts Secured €11 Million and a Spanish-Language Freeze in Catalonia
The documentary fight is not the first time Junts has used its board access to reshape RTVE. In April 2025, the party struck a deal with the PSOE to transform *La 2* in Catalonia into a fully Catalan-language channel. The deal included €11 million in extra annual funding and a target of 0% Spanish-language content on *La 2* and *Clan* in Catalonia by early 2026, according to Vozpopuli.
Analysts describe the demand to pull the national documentary as an escalation — moving from regional programming into RTVE's national content. Critics inside the broadcaster warn it sets a precedent for "ideological vetting" of any future documentary touching on history, language, or colonialism.
Historians Push Back on Gabilondo's Claim
Academics have been quick to challenge the documentary's framing. Critics point to 32 Royal Decrees issued between 1550 and 1782 that ordered the forced "castilianization" of indigenous populations, according to El Nacional.cat. They highlight the 1770 Royal Decree of King Charles III, which explicitly called for the "extinction" of native languages to extend Spanish rule.
RTVE and the Real Academia Española defend the program. They argue it challenges the "Black Legend" and note that Spanish missionaries wrote grammars of indigenous languages before those of many European tongues. Junts rejects that framing, calling the program "fake news" funded by public money, VilaWeb reported.
A Government Caught Between Votes and Backlash
The stakes for Pedro Sánchez are high. Junts holds seven pivotal votes in Congress and has already threatened his administration's stability in June 2026, demanding he "step aside," according to Demócrata. Agreeing to pull the documentary could anger centrist voters. Refusing risks losing Junts support ahead of the 2027 Budget vote.
The People's Party and Vox have seized on the row. They say it proves separatists are "colonizing" RTVE and using public media as a bargaining chip. The RTVE board remains divided, with four PP-appointed members — including Eladio Jareño — expected to oppose any withdrawal of the program, El Diario reported.
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