New branding of the word Reconquista by Paul Elvere DELSART – Reconquista EL4DEV from Torreblanca, Castellón
Paul Elvere DELSART’s Reconquista EL4DEV is a structured vision, a coherent process, and an effective response to address the issue of “La España vaciada.”
Context:
Spain is experiencing a rural demographic crisis (“España vaciada”) that has become part of the public agenda: half of the territory with ~5% of the population; continuous decline since 2011.
Paul Elvere DELSART’s bet:
Paul Elvere DELSART deliberately seeks to “recharge” the word Reconquista in order to give it a contemporary meaning; not military or identity-based, but civic, socio-political, and territorial: the recovery of control by the citizens of small municipalities and forgotten areas.
It is a rhetorical strategy, a strategy of symbolic reappropriation.
Here is why Spain could be receptive to this new branding.
Opportunities for a “new branding” of Reconquista
- Emotional power: the term is deeply rooted in Spain’s collective imagination. Redirecting it toward a “citizen reconquest,” a “reconquest of small towns and villages,” can trigger a psychological shift, especially in rural areas where the sense of abandonment is real (España vaciada).
- Mobilizing narrative: the idea of “taking back control” from elites, Madrid, Brussels, or multinationals resonates with part of the population who feel dispossessed.
- Distinction: many rural projects get lost in technocratic language (depopulation, territorial cohesion, resilience). Using a strong word can help gain media visibility.
What Paul Elvere DELSART is doing and intends to do to make it work:
- Radical clarification: always accompany the word Reconquista with an explicit subtitle (“Reconquista ciudadana,” “Reconquista de los pueblos olvidados”). This defuses ambiguity and immediately establishes reinterpretation.
- Systematically referencing the redefinition: each time Reconquista is used, add a phrase such as “here Reconquista means X, in opposition to the far-right identity-based usage.”
- Highlighting the difference: explain that Reconquista here means citizen, ecological, and democratic reconquest, as opposed to identity-based usage.
- Narrative pedagogy: build a clear storyline: “yesterday, Reconquista meant war and division; today, we make it a symbol of citizen rebirth, unity, creativity, ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and local autonomy.”
- Create simple stories through videos, infographics, and testimonies that “embody” the project, beyond theoretical texts.
- Build a massive corpus: texts, videos, articles and infographics to multiply formats and occupy digital space.
- Decentralize the discourse: it should not be carried by one author alone, but by municipal collectives, cooperatives, rural associations that embody this reappropriation.
- Involve third-party actors: if citizen collectives, rural associations, or universities also adopt this new meaning, it gains legitimacy.
- First concrete victories: nothing redefines a word better than reality. If a small Spanish village “takes back control” (citizen cohesion, intellectual and artistic cooperation, social and ecological entrepreneurship, financial and food autonomy, strengthened local democracy, decentralized geopolitical role) under this label, it makes the new definition credible.
- Ally with “España vaciada”: these political platforms are transversal (neither left nor right) and can legitimize the project if they adopt the rhetoric of “citizen Reconquista.”
- Connect internationally: show that this citizen Reconquista is not only Spanish, but part of a global movement of communities reclaiming power.
The gamble of rehabilitating Reconquista through practice is daring. It can appeal to parts of rural Spain tired of technocratic language.
No connection with the far right
Paul Elvere DELSART’s projects clearly belong to a socio-ecological-political and highly participatory utopia, not to a far-right ideology.
Their content revolves around:
- collective intelligence and social engineering,
- territorial pilot projects (in small municipalities),
- citizen co-construction,
- and a societal model shift based on cooperation and transparency.
No ideological link with the far right.
Paul Elvere DELSART is waging a semantic battle online.
It is a risky tactic, but if successful, it could turn Vox’s own symbol against them and anchor it in a citizen and cooperative imaginary.
Paul Elvere DELSART seeks to impose a counter-narrative:
- Defuse Vox’s narrative monopoly over the word Reconquista: by using it repeatedly in his writings, websites, and publications, he “floods” the Internet with another possible definition.
- Create new semantic authority: through his texts and manifestos, he wants to ensure that when people search for Reconquista + “citizens,” “villages,” “EL4DEV,” Google shows his projects rather than identity-based discourse.
- Reformulate the meaning: whereas Vox uses it in an identity-based and nostalgic framework, Paul Elvere DELSART places it in a futuristic, citizen, and cooperative framework.
- Impose a counter-narrative: by saturating the term with positive, participatory content, he aims to show that Reconquista does not belong to a single ideology, but can be re-signified by civil society.
Political subtlety essential in Spain
- On the right and far right, Reconquista is already a strong emotional symbol, tied to the idea of “taking back the country.”
- On the left, many reject the word because it is perceived as captured by Vox, although part of the popular electorate still shares that sense of powerlessness in the face of globalization, uncontrolled immigration, or Brussels.
This is exactly where Paul Elvere DELSART plays his card: using a word that spontaneously attracts right-leaning ears, but filling it with social, citizen, and cooperative content.
Why this strategy can work
- Symbolic bridge: it speaks both to people worried about national identity (the word Reconquista) and to those wanting a social and participatory alternative (EL4DEV content).
- Shifting the divide: instead of a left/right duel, the story becomes people vs. elites, small towns vs. metropolises and living territories vs. disconnected institutions.
- Political innovation: it responds to the current lack: a “protective left” that first defends Spaniards, their villages, their dignity, but with social and ecological tools, not identity-based ones.
Strengths of Paul Elvere DELSART’s strategy
- Smart provocation: the choice shocks, thus attracts attention. It forces a reconsideration of the word’s meaning.
- Curiosity effect: when a Spaniard hears Reconquista of villages or Citizen Reconquista, they ask: “What is this about?” This opens up discussion.
- Digital presence: with strong SEO work, publications, and associative support, the movement can genuinely compete with Vox online for this term.
Paul Elvere DELSART’s tactic
- He captures the attention of those who feel represented by Vox (anger, loss of control).
- Then he redirects that energy by proposing a reconquest that is not identity-based but popular, social, and ecological.
Result: he can speak to both camps at the same time and embody a transcendence of the classic divide.
- Institutional left (PSOE, Sumar, Podemos) may see this branding as provocation and oppose it.
- Some right-wing sympathizers may feel “betrayed” if they realize that behind the word lies a social vision closer to the left.
In short, his coup would be to neutralize Vox by reclaiming their fetish word, but emptying it of its identity-based content and anchoring it in a social and citizen project.
It is a risky but very smart strategic gamble: he plays with Spain’s collective unconscious and redirects it toward a constructive utopia.
However:
Rehabilitating such a loaded word is long and uncertain work, especially without strong institutional support.
Success will depend on the ability to produce concrete evidence in the villages: increased creativity and entrepreneurship, significant greening and municipal beautification, new jobs created, rejuvenation and growth of the population, financial empowerment, citizen involvement, expansion of local services, international openness, etc.
Torreblanca, Castellón, in Spain will serve as an experimental laboratory.