Catalonian Independence Referendum

[Aethan]

As Spanish myself, I feel like it's my duty to inform about what's happening right now in the region of Catalonia, Spain.

The political movement began in 1922 when Francesc Macià founded Estat Català (Catalan State). In 1931, Estat Català and other parties formed Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia; ERC), which won a dramatic victory in the municipal elections of that year. Macià proclaimed a Catalan Republic, but after negotiations with the leaders of the new Spanish Republic, he instead accepted autonomy within the Spanish state. In the Spanish Civil War, General Francisco Franco abolished Catalan autonomy in 1938. Following Franco's death in 1975, Catalan political parties concentrated on autonomy rather than independence.

The modern independence movement began when the 2006 Statute of Autonomy, which had been agreed with the Spanish government and passed by a referendum in Catalonia, was challenged in the Spanish High Court of Justice, which ruled that some of the articles were unconstitutional, or were to be interpreted restrictively. Popular protest against the decision quickly turned into demands for independence. Starting with the town of Arenys de Munt, over 550 municipalities in Catalonia held symbolic referendums on independence between 2009 and 2011, all of them returning a high "yes" vote, with a turnout of around 30% of those eligible to vote. A 2010 protest demonstration against the court's decision, organised by the cultural organisation Òmnium Cultural, was attended by over a million people. The popular movement fed upwards to the politicians; a second mass protest on 11 September 2012 (the National Day of Catalonia) explicitly called on the Catalan government to begin the process towards independence. Catalan president Artur Mas called a snap general election, which resulted in a pro-independence majority for the first time in the region's history. The new parliament adopted the Catalan Sovereignty Declaration in early 2013, asserting that the Catalan people had the right to decide their own political future.

The Catalan government announced a referendum, to be held in November 2014, on the question of statehood. The referendum was to ask two questions: "Do you want Catalonia to become a State?" and (if yes) "Do you want this State to be independent?" The Spanish government referred the proposed referendum to the Spanish Constitutional Court, which ruled it unconstitutional. The Catalan government then changed it from a binding referendum to a non-binding "consultation". Despite the Spanish court also banning the non-binding vote, the Catalan self-determination referendum went ahead on 9 November 2014. The result was an 81% vote for "yes-yes", but the turnout was only 35%. Mas called another election for September 2015, which he said would be a plebiscite on independence. Pro-independence parties fell just short of a majority of votes in the September election, although they won a majority of seats. The new parliament passed a resolution declaring the start of the independence process in November 2015, and the following year, new president Carles Puigdemont announced a binding referendum on independence, to be held in September 2017. The Spanish government continues to oppose any move in the direction of Catalan independence.

In the Parliament of Catalonia, parties explicitly supporting independence are Partit Demòcrata Europeu Català (Catalan European Democratic Party; PDeCAT), formerly named Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (Democratic Convergence of Catalonia; CDC); Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia; ERC), and Candidatura d'Unitat Popular (Popular Unity Candidacy; CUP). The PDeCAT and ERC currently form the coalition Junts pel Sí (Together for "Yes"). Parties opposed to any change in Catalonia's position are Ciutadans (Citizens) and the Catalan branch of the Partido Popular (People's Party). The Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (Socialists' Party of Catalonia; PSC), the Catalan referent of the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party; PSOE), officially favours a federalist option, although some of its members support self-determination. Other parties favour an intermediate form of self-determination, or at least support a referendum on the question.

From this point, the regional chamber of Catalonia became a battlefield, from both sides. the Catalan parliament decided to skip the Spanish legislation to pass its own legislation, with the votes in favour of JxSi and the CUP, and the opposition of the rest of the parties, that called that situation "unconstitutional" (The Spanish Constitution stablish a complex system until a region can declare its full independence, including two elections, general and regional). The independence bloc has ignored these warnings and convened the referendum for today, despite being suspended by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Spain, with the other parties calling for non-participation in it and the central government, formed by the PP (Partido Popular, center-right to right ), announcing that it would take the appropriate measures to ensure that Spanish law would be complied with.

In the last days however, the situation has been out of control, given the inability of both governments to reach an agreement, and the resurgence of fascist and extremist movements on both sides, with concentrations in the main cities of Spain supporting each side. Mayors of Catalan cities that refused to open electoral colleges were threatened, and so were the Mayors of Madrid and Cádiz for supporting the right to decide of the Catalan people.

From the outside people may see it differently. The main problem resides in that this referendum is illegal (goes directly against the Spanish Constitution), but the reaction of the Spanish Government at this very moment is being excesive, with images and videos of the national police hitting elderly and children, and firefighters confronting the police.

Concentrations in favour of democracy (with people comparing the current situation with the one during the Franco dictatorship) in the main cities of Spain, including Valencia, Madrid, Bilbao or Seville, will be confronted with concentrations in favour of the policial action in Catalonia today.

I certainly don't know how this will end, but this is an interesting (and worrying) political issue.

Any questions about this situation I can also answer here

[Elf]

I feel naturally inclined to feel sympathy for the little guys - and support the creation of new nation states for the sake of (actual) diversity. What's the chances of the same happening in Basque Country?

I don't get all the legal details, but I really don't see how people are gonna support independence when the government responds with violent repression. After all - Spain started out as a collection of smaller kingdoms as everyone who've watched the Isabel series (♥♥Isabel♥♥) knows, so why not an autonomous or independent Galicia or Leon when at it?

[Aethan]

I feel naturally inclined to feel sympathy for the little guys - and support the creation of new nation states for the sake of (actual) diversity. What's the chances of the same happening in Basque Country?

I don't get all the legal details, but I really don't see how people are gonna support independence when the government responds with violent repression. After all - Spain started out as a collection of smaller kingdoms as everyone who've watched the Isabel series (♥♥Isabel♥♥) knows, so why not an autonomous or independent Galicia or Leon when at it?

The Basque Country currently has a lot more facilities than the rest of autonomous communities of Spain (including its own tax collection), and with its past related with the terrorist group ETA, chances of the Basque Country following the same path are very low. Also, the Basques tend to observe and act after, so they will probably wait until the situation in Catalonia ends to see their options.

Spain started as the Kingdom of Castille and Aragon mainly, with Catalonia being part of the Aragon crown, but it has never been an independent kingdom. The problem most regions face is that, while they would love to be independent, most of them do not have the neccesary conditions to become so, they couldn't "survive" on their own, despite any nationalist feelings. Catalonia could survive on its own, but with what is happening today, it would be out of the EU and most international organizations.

The main nationalist feelings in Spain are in Galicia, Basque Country and Catalonia, you will never see Castille asking for it

[TPPDJT]

I hope it goes through because they deserve freedom after the White Terror killed thousands of Catalan nationalists.

[Aethan]

I hope it goes through because they deserve freedom after the White Terror killed thousands of Catalan nationalists.

Our nation (I feel ashamed to call it today "my nation") has a very dark past during the Francoist regime. Not only Catalan and Basque nationalist were killed, but also everyone who disagreed with the Francoist ideology, including the Republicans that ruled the nation until 1936.

The current Government has been asked many times to open investigations to find the lost bodies of those who were killed, and to return them to their families, but they have rejected it once and again.

Situation is complex right now and tensions are quickly rising...

[Hrafn]

I don't know all the details, but I support all secessions by principle. Opposing a secession is morally equivalent to supporting a forceful annexation in my view.

"But Catalonia is better off as a region of Spain" you say? Yeah, maybe, or maybe not. In any case, that's the Catalonians' business, and nobody else's!

That's my national-libertarian take on it.

[Hrafn]

The problem most regions face is that, while they would love to be independent, most of them do not have the neccesary conditions to become so, they couldn't "survive" on their own, despite any nationalist feelings.

How so? Are you talking about military capacity?

[Aethan]

The problem most regions face is that, while they would love to be independent, most of them do not have the neccesary conditions to become so, they couldn't "survive" on their own, despite any nationalist feelings.

How so? Are you talking about military capacity?

Economically mainly, without collapsing. However, Catalonia can perfectly survive with its own economy if it becomes independent

And don't misunderstand me, I support its right to decide and this afternoon I'm going to the manifestation in Madrid

[jamescfm]

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[Mbites]

I feel like the government overreacted by having the police forces interfere with this amount of authority, I think the Eu Treaty Article 7 would be a good option to at least consider.