19 January 2014
The hilltop village of
Sant Pere de Torello, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, north of
Barcelona, is decked in the colours of Catalan statehood.
The red-blue-gold flag of the movement to win independence
from Spain flies from windows, balconies and rooftops in every street.
The flag also rises above the town hall of this community of
2,500, whose mayor was the first local official in Catalonia to declare
his area a free Catalan territory - electing to send local taxes to the
Catalan capital Barcelona, instead of directly to Madrid. It is a
symbolic repudiation of the town's Spanish heritage in favour of an
explicit Catalan national identity.
"It is a small thing," says Griselda Castells, an adviser to
the mayor, "but we have tried for years to explain to Spain that we need
action - but nothing changes.
"Now the government of Spain can see that it is real, this
feeling that we have. It's a small thing but an important thing for our
ideology, for our dream, that Catalonia will be independent."
There has been a dramatic rise in support for Catalan
independence in the last few years. A pro-independence demonstration in
Barcelona in September 2012 attracted more than a million people.
Opinion polls frequently put support for a break with Spain at more than
50%.
Scottish independence
President Artur Mas: 'Catalonia and Scotland have enough personality to follow their own ways.' Click here to watch the interview (6 min):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25717161
The stand-off is in marked contrast to the situation in
Scotland, with which Catalonia is frequently compared. There, the
pro-independence Scottish National Party won a majority in the Scottish
parliament and announced plans for a referendum
to take place in September. It reached an agreement with the British
government on the timing of the poll, and on the wording of the
question: "should Scotland be an independent country?"
The UK government, and the anti-independence "Better
Together" campaign, have both said they will respect the outcome of the
referendum.
"We envy a little bit what is happening in the UK," Artur Mas
told me, "because what we would like is an agreement with the Spanish
institutions.
"Our aim is to reach this agreement, but the difference is
that in Spain the central government says you don't have the right to
vote."
So, I asked him, would you rather be dealing with UK Prime Minister David Cameron than with the current Spanish government?
"Of course," he said. "Well, not exactly with David Cameron
but with the British mentality. That is to say: if you have a nation,
Scotland or Catalonia, and you have in this nation a broad majority of
the population that is asking for a referendum, real democracy, what
should you do? You should sit at the table, reach an agreement and let
the people vote. This is the British way. And I wish that Spain was
exactly the same, with the same mentality."
But Spain is not the United Kingdom and Catalonia is not
Scotland. Scotland and Catalonia have similar sized populations - five
million and 7.5 million, respectively.
Scotland contributes just over 8% of the UK's taxes
(excluding oil and gas) - about the same proportion as the size of its
population.
But Catalonia is Spain's wealthiest and most economically
productive region and accounts for about a quarter of Spain's taxes -
far more than its share of Spain's population. This disparity has helped
fuel the rise in support for independence.
In September 2012 pro-independence Catalans thronged the streets of Barcelona
Madrid warning
There is a further key difference between Scotland and
Catalonia. In Scotland, the SNP has campaigned for independence as a
matter of principle since the party was founded nearly a century ago.
Support for independence has been fairly solid at more than 30%,
arguably for decades.
In Catalonia, support has rocketed from somewhere in the
teens to more than 50% since the current economic crisis began, leading
many anti-independence campaigners to argue that this recent rise is
ephemeral, an anomaly - a short-term response to a short-term economic
crisis, but one which could have irreversible long-term consequences.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Fernando Sanchez Costa Catalan MP in Spain's Popular PartyWe hope it won't come to this, but we could for instance suspend Catalonia's autonomy”
And although a clear majority in
Catalonia - about three-quarters of the people in recent opinion polls -
want the right to vote on the matter, a minority want Spain to act to
stop the referendum taking place at all.
"Spain could do many things," says Fernando Sanchez Costa, a
member of the Catalan parliament for the governing centre-right Spanish
party, the Popular Party.
"We hope it won't come to this, but we could for instance
suspend Catalonia's autonomy. Our democratic constitution gives us the
tools. It wouldn't be necessary to suspend [the Catalan] parliament. In
Northern Ireland something similar happened a few years ago. Some
competences were taken away temporarily. This could happen in
Catalonia."
Many in Catalonia believe that would only boost support for independence still further.
Artur Mas says he is determined to go ahead regardless. "Let
me remind you," he says, "that we had democratic elections here a year
ago. The electoral pledges were very clear and the people elected us
because they wanted the right to exercise this choice. We must stick by
our promise to hold a consultation".
And if Spain blocks it? "Then we will call new elections, by
2016 at the latest, and this election will become the referendum on
independence. You cannot convince the Catalan people that they have no
right to vote on this. You cannot stop a democratic and peaceful
movement like this."
Related Stories
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25717161
( More entries on this story in this blog:
- Catalonia - English (5) http://www.cucadellum.org/search/label/Catalonia%20-%20English )
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