Catalonia: The Rebel State

This is a developing story. We will continue to update this article to provide you the most up to date information about Catalonia and its struggle for independence. 

[Catalonia’s fight for Independence + historical context.]

Developing News:

In a TV address, Spain’s King Felipe VI condemned organizers of Catalonia’s independence referendum for having put themselves “outside the law;” stating that the situation in Spain was “extremely serious” and calling for unity.

Hundreds of thousands in Catalonia have been protesting since the Spanish police violence that took place during Sunday’s historic vote for independence, in which 893 people were hurt.

Meanwhile, Catalonia’s leader has told multiple news organizations that the region would declare its independence in a matter of days.

In one of his first interviews since the referendum, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said his government would “act at the end of this week or the beginning of the next.”

When probed on what he would do if the Spanish government were to intervene or try to take control of the Catalonia’s government, Mr. Puigdemont said it would be “an error which changes everything.”

As of now, there is no contact between Mr. Puigdemont and the government in Madrid. These comments were made shortly after the Kings televised speech. 

Context… 

Over the past few weeks the northeastern region of Spain, known as Catalonia has been fighting a great fight for independence against Spain. This is the breakdown of what is happening currently, and what brought about this dangerous split.

As of now, reports state that 893 people and 33 police officers have been hurt since Sunday, Oct 1st, as the Catalan referendum for more autonomy has been passed by the Catalan government. The protests leading to this day have been violent and without regard to human safety or democratic values. What has led to this split? Well, here’s a bit of a history lesson that will explain why Catalonia has always viewed itself as a free state. 

History… 

Catalonians have always believed that their state is a separate nation from the very beginning. With a population of 7.5 million people, it is the wealthiest of Spain’s 17 semi-autonomous regions. In the 12th century, its kingdom came under the rule of the neighboring Spanish kingdom of Aragon. In the 15th century, when King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile married and united their domains, it became part of a unified Spain. Throughout its history, Catalonia has always had varying degrees of autonomy protecting its distinct culture, language, law, and customs. That all came to a grinding halt when the war of the Spanish Succession took place during 1702-1714 when Catalonia fell to Felipe V’s Franco-Castillian army after a 15-month siege. As a result, the nation-state lost its charters and institutions, and Catalonia was officially abolished. With the state being heavily oppressed by the ruling class, the Catalans have had difficulty maintaining their culture and language ever since.

Fast forward to 1931, relief came in the form of new elections that brought broad autonomy to Catalonia, which again fell apart when Spain fell into civil war during the mid-1930’s and the succeeding Franco regime. Franco’s ultra-conservative rule curtailed the states autonomy and restricted the use of the Catalan language as well. After the end of the dictatorship in 1978, Spain had a democratic transition and Catalonia became one of its 17 autonomous communities. In this period of finally gaining back some control, Catalonia established its own parliament (Generalitat), Police force (Mossos d’esquadra), and education system; but calls for full independence have still continued. 

The Euro economic crisis saw high unemployment among the Catalonia youth and further exposed the mass inequality between the rich and poor. 

3 Reasons for the split… 

Money:

• Pro-independence supporters claim that Catalonia is being robbed by Spain when the central government taxes the region. Catalans state that the gap in what they pay in taxes and what they get back in services is an insult.

• Spain’s financial crisis and the austerity that followed has only fueled this discontent. Catalans claim that Catalonia would be much more sufficient and prosperous on its own.

• The counter-argument comes from Xavier Albiol, who is the leader of the Catalan Branch of Spain’s ruling People’s party. He states that in many countries the wealthy regions prop up the poorer ones, “At the moment Spain is the country in the EU which is growing the most; more jobs are being created and that directly benefits Catalonia, all told, united we are strong.”

Language:

• Under General Franco’s dictatorship, Catalan could not be used in any official context. Since Democracy was restored in 1978, the language has rebounded, which has sparked a new surge of pride in the Catalan culture and identity.

• However, in 2010, the Spanish courts rejected a change to the constitution that would have given the Catalan language preferential status, further alienating the state’s uniqueness, which many Catalans viewed as an insult, again strengthening pro-independence feelings. 

Respect:

• “First of all, we are democrats which means that when we demand to be treated a mature society, we mean this. When we demand that the opinion of the people should be taken into account, we mean this.” – Raul Romeva (Member of the Catalan parliament which favors independence)

• As you can see the Catalonia’s pro-independence leaders see the referendum as a democratic right, and Madrid’s refusal to acknowledge this infuriates them. 

Do all Catalans want independence?

• Catalans seem to be divided about leaving Spain.

  • With 49.4% of its population wanting to stay

  • And 41.1 of its population wanting to break away from Spain.

This break in unity within the state itself has caused mass debates to take part in towns and villages across Catalonia. Though the referendum has now gone in favor for Independence, Spanish authorities have dismissed the referendum as unconstitutional and a ‘farce’; 90% of those who came out and braved against the brutal tactics of the Spanish police voted in favor of the split. Though, protests leading after the vote have only been able to turn out about 42% of supporters due to the police crackdown. 

The Catalan President stopped short of declaring independence from Spain on Monday – a move that would have further deepened the crisis, and has instead requested for an international arbiter to mediate the issue, ideally someone from the European Union. “This moment needs mediation,” Catalan President Puigdemont said, “We only received violence and repression as an answer.” Puigdemont said Catalonia did not want a “traumatic break” with Madrid. “We want a new understanding with the Spanish State,” he said.

When the governing body of a nation fails to listen to its people, regardless of how small or big the population of those said people are, unrest and calls for extreme action will take place. Spain has the opportunity to heal the pain and anger it has caused with the Catalan state by simply addressing this problem for what it is – a call to be understood and listened to by the Catalan people. Taking it for anything else will only stiffen the resolve of the pro-independence supporters and further divide the Catalan state from a peaceful resolution. 

Catalonia: The Rebel State Update

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