What’s Happening in Catalonia?
Located in northeastern Spain, Catalonia (Capitol:
Barcelona), is one of seventeen semi-autonomous regions in the European country.
Moreover, the region has a diverse culture and distinctive language: Catalan. While
the region speaks Spanish, you will both hear and see Catalan more than
Spanish.
The people of Catalonia are incredibly proud. They will
almost always say they are Catalan, before they say they are Spanish. This
stems partly from the fact that Catalonia never wanted to be part of Spain. The
region lost its independence in 1714 and has since been granted vastly
disparate levels of autonomy. The Spanish Civil War marked some of
the worst times for the region. During the war, Catalonia, a secular region,
leaned left and strongly resisted Franco and fascism. Spain’s Civil War ended
in 1939 and Franco established his military dictatorship, which quickly
outlawed the Catalan language and culture. Political killings were common and
left many lasting scars on the relations between Catalonia and Madrid. When
Franco died in 1975, Spain slowly transitioned to a constitutional democracy,
and Catalonia was given more autonomy.
So, why vote for independence now? Well, this is not the
first time Catalonia has held a vote. In 2014, there was an informal vote that revealed
about 80%
of Catalans supported independence. The increasing tension between
Catalonia and Madrid stems from the 2008 recession that drastically impacted
Spain’s economy. Catalonia is one of the most economically powerful regions of
Spain and Catalans feel they pay a tremendous amount of taxes to subsidize
other less affluent regions. This is partly true; Catalans paid 8 billion euros more than
they received back in taxes in 2014. Although, as a caveat, Catalonia currently
owes about 52 billion
euros to Madrid.
A majority of Catalans wanted
to vote on independence, however it’s unclear whether the majority of the
region truly wants total
independence from Spain. Nonetheless, the primary issue in Catalonia
regards the Catalan leadership’s hasty approach to achieving political
independence; especially considering the ramifications of a complete separation
from Spain. Simply put, a vote for
secession will affect not only Spain, but the entire European continent.
Carles Puigdemont, the leader of the Catalan government, was
elected by a minority
of the population. His coalition includes both conservative and far-left
parties, whose only common interest appears to be secession from Spain.
However, instead of taking a planned, deliberate approach to the political
process, Puigdemont has acted rapidly, arguably to the point of recklessness,
without any sort of negotiation with Madrid or even opposition
parties within the Catalan parliament. The legislation to hold a referendum
was ultimately forced through and the referendum was held on October 1.
However, even before the vote, it seemed clear that Puigdemont would attempt to
secede from Spain. Such action is in sharp contrast to the type of independence
vote that took place in Scotland
in 2014.
With this sort of recklessness, it’s unsurprising that Madrid
vehemently opposed Catalan independence. If the Prime Minister of Spain,
Mariano Rajoy, had acted responsibly, and simply declared that Spain refused to
recognize the vote, the situation might have defused. However, Rajoy called for
referendum to be stopped by
any means necessary, which ended violently.
The resulting photographs showed a government violently preventing its
own citizens from peacefully voting. It is repugnant and sad to witness a
democracy use such force, which injured at least 900 of its own citizens.
Moreover, Rajoy did
not back down as he began to receive criticism for the treatment of the
Catalan people.
Puigdemont responded on Monday, October 2, that of
the 42% of the total population who participated in the vote, 90% voted for
independence. Puigdemont then announced he would declare independence from Spain in
the coming days (even though a majority of Catalonia’s citizens have not
voted for independence, although some have said they did not vote due to intimidation
from both sides or simply wanted to boycott
an illegal vote). The King of Spain, made a statement attempting to quell
unrest, however many Catalans viewed the statement as an insult, as he never
mentioned or made an apology for the violence, nor did he make any call for
dialogue between Madrid and Catalonia. Many Catalans took to the street to protest
Madrid’s reaction to the vote.
The consequences of the above-specified events remain unclear.
After the Spanish Constitutional court suspended
a meeting of the Catalan Parliament, Puidgemont still signed an independence
declaration on Tuesday, October 10. The declaration, however was suspended.
Puidgemont instead called for talks with Madrid before any official separation.
If Puigdemont moves in the coming weeks for actual independence, Spain can constitutionally take
direct control over Catalonia, which could be as extreme as martial
law.
If independence were to truly happen, it is unknown how an
independent Catalonia would interact with the EU. Catalonia currently trades 2/3 of its goods with
the EU. Moreover, outside of a flag, parliament, and a police force, Catalonia
lacks any sort of state institutions, such as defense
or taxation.
For all the trouble this vote has created and will likely
continue to create, it is important to note that this is all happening not
because Madrid was acting as dictator over Catalonia, but because Catalonia
simply wishes to no longer be part of Spain, much like Scotland and the United
Kingdom. There’s nothing wrong with a region wishing to exercise
self-determination, however this is an extreme method to accomplish that goal.
Hopefully, Catalonia and Madrid can come to their senses and negotiate a real
solution before they stubbornly throw their country into madness.
Author: Mary Macleod
