Why does Catalunya want Independence?
On the 1st of October, Spanish Democracy will be faced with a test sure to rock it to its roots. A long-standing independence movement in the rich province of Catalunya will reach its culmination with a referendum on independence. In the Catalan capital Barcelona, the build-up to the referendum has coincided with major Catalan festivities; which has turned the streets into a platform for their movement. La Diada — the national day of Catalunya — and La Merce — the festival of Barcelona’s patron saint — both saw thousands of people put on incredible displays of nationalism on the streets. Wrapped in the Catalan flag and shouting slogans of independence, the Catalans made one thing very clear — that they are serious about independence and will continue the struggle till their demands are met.
The Catalan struggle for independence first started in 1922, and in recent times, was re-ignited in 2009. Yearly protests — or “manifestations” as they are known locally — have occurred since 2009. This time, however, the scenario’s changed. The Catalan people are now also backed by a feeling of legal legitimacy — a democratically elected Catalan government has passed a Bill in Parliament allowing for the referendum. Even though the Spanish Constitutional Court has suspended the Bill and declared the referendum illegal, the sentiments on the streets have not changed. As citizens of a 21st century liberal democracy, the people feel it is their absolute right to be able to vote for their political future. The possibility that their vote might be held illegitimate seems ridiculous to the locals — how can that be the case in a world which prides itself on freedom of political choice? Thus, the referendum has taken the form of a natural right; and Madrid — the foreign oppressor who is taking away the same.
This feeling of animosity for the government in Madrid, coupled with a strong sense of national Catalan identity and legitimized by a belief in the legality of their approach has given the movement real force. In the past, Madrid’s attitude towards demonstrations and demands was decidedly flippant — Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy and his ministers have repeatedly called the Catalans’ demands a ‘joke’. However, now that the gravity of the matter is apparent, Madrid has decided to put its foot down and crackdown on the revolt.
In the last few weeks, PM Rajoy has decried the movement multiple times in the media, calling it ‘illegal’ and an ‘abuse of power’; while also branding the Catalans ‘disobedient radicals’. The organizers of the referendum have been threatened with criminal action too. In furtherance of the same, Spanish police arrested and detained 14 Catalan ministers last week, and seized approximately 10 million ballot papers. The Spanish military police — the Civil Guardia — have also been deployed on the streets of Barcelona to keep things under control. Rajoy has said that he will make sure the referendum does not take place. At the same time, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont states that irrespective of the circumstances, the people of Catalunya will vote on the 1st October to decide their future. And thus, the stage is set for an unprecedented political conflict which may have repercussions for the world at large — specifically the institution of liberal democracies.
The Spanish government’s response to the protests is strange. The Catalan Parliament’s Bill is fraught with procedural infirmities and would be unlikely to have any legal force. Regardless, Rajoy has adopted tactics of suppression and control, which have further enraged and unified the Catalan nationalists. In effect, he has made the decision for Catalans who were erstwhile on the fence, inadvertently pushing them to vote for independence. This is primarily because the arrests of the Catalan ministers and the growing presence of the Spanish Civil Guardia in the city has seen comparisons drawn with dictator Franssico Franco’s regime. For the Catalans, any indication of Franco-esque tendencies is not a matter to be taken lightly.
The media has made much of the Catalan movement — a large number of sources believe that Spain’s recent financial crisis is the chief reason that economically prosperous Catalunya wants to split away from Spain. The argument is that the Catalans pay more in taxes to Madrid, than they receive in benefits from State-expenditure, and therefore, they wish to put an end to this economic exploitation and break away from Spain. While it is true that the tax regime is Spain is unfavourable to Catalunya, the above assessment is a gross simplification of the various issues this controversy is embroiled in.
Much like Brexit is touted to harm the British economy, a split from Spain will hardly do the Catalans any economic good. The fact that Spain is Catalunya’s biggest importer and that it has powerful allies in the EU means that an independent Catalunya may not find it easy to gain EU membership, and may find itself isolated from the integrated EU market (and the Spanish market). Yet, economic considerations are the least of Catalunya’s concerns. The Catalans vehemently say — “This is about identity, not money.”
Conversations with multiple native Catalan people has provided me with an insight into why the Catalans want independence. Interestingly, different reasons seemed predominant to different people — a sure sign of actual discontentment with status quo.
“My parents do not feel independent in this country”, says Boss, a student at the UAB. He paints a very vivid picture of the dispute to me: The dispute between Catalunya and Castile (Madrid) is very old — they are historic enemies. In 1714, an independent Catalunya fell to control of Spanish King Phillip V. To curb sedition, Phillip signed multiple decrees which supressed local institutions and privileges, and started this long-standing dispute. The suppression of the local institutions is a recurring theme of this dispute.
The Spanish Civil War of the 1930s saw the Republican Catalans pitted against Francisco Franco’s forces. The war is infamous for the mass atrocities of Franco’s forces against dissenting civilians. Rape, imprisoning women and children, forced transfer of property and forced prostitution (amongst others) were the modus operandi of Franco’s totalitarian machine. Such was his wrath that even after having assumed control of the country, Franco allowed the war to continue to exterminate as many Republicans as he could. In his post-War regime, the Catalans were essentially reduced to prisoners in their own country.
After the war, Barcelona was left to languish in its ruined state, while rebuilding was undertaken everywhere else in the country. The clear motivation of Franco’s regime — and his Spanish nationalistic agenda — was the elimination of everything Catalan. Castilian was made the official state language, and mandated in all public institutions across Spain. Education in Catalan and its use in public was prohibited; the use of non-Castilian names for newborns was also prohibited. The Catalan language all but disappeared from the public sphere during Franco’s regime.
The atrocities of the Franco regime are one of the biggest reasons for discontentment in the people of Catalonia. The wounds of this oppression are still fresh in the minds of Catalunya’s elderly. When Franco died in 1975, King Juan Carlos — appointed by Franco himself — took over the country’s transition to democracy. The 1978 Spanish Constitution reinstated Catalunya’s political autonomy, but retained fiscal control for the Centre. A statue of demands was proposed by the Catalans and after much debate, a highly watered down version was accepted by the Centre. This left a sour taste in the mouth of the Catalans; to them, the King was Franco’s puppet and the democracy a sham.
Cultural identity is another important reason why the Catalans want a split. In present-day Barcelona, it is evident that cultural identity is integral to the Catalans way of life. Following democracy and autonomous status, Catalan culture has flourished in the city. Catalan festivals are occasions of joyous public gathering. The people of Catalunya speak Catalan, not Spanish. Most public signs in Barcelona are primarily in Catalan. The Catalan flag adorns houses on almost every street and all public buildings. The Spanish flag, by contrast, is largely absent.
Born to a Catalan mother and an Irish father, Barcelona-resident Tom underlines with vehemence that his identity as a Catalan is extremely important to him. He says that the media’s emphasis on the economic aspect of the movement has undermined its essence. He points to the fact that calls for independence have occurred even before the economic crisis, and that a referendum has been proposed multiple times in the past. He further says that the Spanish government continues to mistreat Catalunya even today — the tax regime is highly unfavourable; Catalunya is the only State in Spain where the roads are taxed, the proceeds of which are used to make toll-free roads elsewhere in the country. The Catalans are often derided in national media — in 2015 after a plane crash, a Spanish commentator publically said that it was too bad that the plane wasn’t full of Catalans. The Spanish have also constructed a trans-European railway, which cuts across the revered Pyrenees mountains of Catalunya; something which the Catalans would have never allowed. It is this persisting disregard for their culture that irks people like Tom; it is a reminder that the Spanish are a different people, with no regard for Catalunya’s integrity.
The media has also undermined the movement by claiming that the Catalans are dissatisfied with the mass influx of immigrants. Jordi and Marc — also students — clarify that the demand for independence has nothing to do with any perceived ‘immigrant issues’. Marc says that the Catalans are a very welcoming people — everyone is welcome to the city, and welcome to join in with the Catalans in their way of life. He says that once settled in Catalunya, a person becomes Catalan — irrespective of their origins.
My personal experiences verify what they say. When asked if they were Spanish or Catalan, Spaniards who originate elsewhere, but are now settled in Barcelona have a very clear response — both. “I am Spanish/Andalusian/Basque because that’s where my family comes from; but I am also Catalan because I live here.”
The passion with which these students spoke of independence threw me back to my history books and the Indian independence movement. It also reminded me of Omar Khalid — a student from New Delhi who was arrested in 2016 and charged with sedition for speaking in favour of Kashmir’s freedom from India. If a similar situation arises, I have no doubt that the Catalans would also happily follow Khalid’s steps into a prison cell, in support for their cause.
These are the multi-faceted issues at play in the struggle for Catalan independence. A struggle which has strong cultural support; and which now also has a semblance of ‘legal’ authority.
By passing legislation in a democratically elected Parliament, the Catalans have played the international community at the own game. They have added merit to their demand by invoking the rules of political governance established by uniform consensus. The cornerstones of modern societies — democracy and popular representation — are at stake in this debate. What does the future hold? Will Catalunya be the latest addition to a growing list of Nation States? Is this the prequel to another Civil War? Or will a compromise be reached? Only time will tell…
