What Is Really Happening in Catalonia?
@GarciaCarmonaAM10·04·2017 · 21:17 0
By Ángel Manuel García Carmona
Last Sunday 1, a referendum on secession has been celebrated in the Spanish North-Eastern region of Catalonia.
Open Letter to Misinformed Foreigners Concerning the Catalan Referendum
Catalonia: This Is What Some Spanish and International Media Almost Never Explain
According to the regional government, 90 per cent of votes were in support of secession, butparticipation under 43 per cent and total percentage of ballots was higher than 100 percent. There were some irregularities like the possibility of voting more than one time and a universal census (people under eighteen years old were able to participate).
Next Monday, the Catalan Parliament will declare the independence. Yesterday, there was a general strike owing to that, supported by its government and called by far-left CUP and nationalist associations ANC and Ómnium.
However, Puigdemont’s plans can be considered as a coup d’État. Section 2 of Spanish Constitution guarantees the national unity while 92th stresses those issues of special transcendence must be voted by all the Spanish citizenship. Moreover, last month, Constitutional Court ruled to declare illegal so-called laws on “referendum” and “transience”.
High Court of Catalonia ordered at Sunday 4:00 am all voting centers ought to be sealed. But the regional police did not committed with that order, contrary to National Police and Guardia Civil, who tried to evacuate schools and remove ballot boxes. But they had to face with many scenes of not passive resistance blocking them to follow the judicial mandate.
According to the regional department of Health (it depends on nationalist government) there were more than 800 wounded people in confrontations with the police, but only 4 were sent to the hospital. It seems secessionists spread photos taken five years ago. Spanish police corps did not attacked anybody for the simple reason of voting, despite of the vision spread by pro-secession side and some foreign newspapers.
But some policemen were attacked and harassed by protesters. The spokesman of the coordination of “Guardia Civil” associations has reported this morning in radio station COPE there is a harassment (he compared those radicals to Basque left-wing illegalized partyBatasuna). A town hall ruled by nationalists ordered hotels to expel Spanish policemen. Even should be pointed during last weekend, groups of anarchists from many points of Europe and members of abertzale left arrived to Catalonia.
Now, we must know the reasons for secessionist claims have not neither a previous historical context like Scottish nor lack of autonomy (or interventionism, like in Texan case).
Spain is divided into 17 Autonomous Communities that has their own parliament and government as in regional statutes. Moreover, thanks to PP and PSOE (main pro Spanish Constitution parties) Catalan nationalists have received many concessions such as the “fast way” for autonomy, the reform of autonomous communities financing and the Agreement of Majestic and frequent injections of liquidity.
By means of State power, apart from giving subsidies to media, associations and companies in support for independence, finning stores that do not mark in Catalan language and using public radio and television for “nationalist propaganda”, they are against the right of parents to decide in which language their children have to study. Common lies are considering Catalonia was ever an independent Nation-State and affirming there was an old Catalan-Aragon Crown instead of ever real Crown of Aragon.
In 1970’s, Catalonia was the richest region in Spain, but between 1980 and 2014, the GDP of Madrid has growth a 169%, that is, 61 points more (regional average was, according to FEDEA, about a 111 per cent). In 2016, it was the region that has lost more companies (1072) and the most indebted (35.40% of GDP). Investors feel too uncertain. In 2012, former right-wing CiU reached an agreement with left-wing nationalist party ERC, which was the consequence of a tax raising.
According to Spanish classical liberal act-tank “El Club de los Viernes”, there is a total environment towards those who do not support Catalan nationalism. Besides, such it is aroused a feeling of hate towards Spaniards, aside Spanish left-wing side opposition to so-called “idea of Spain”.
Once we have addressed the constitution of Catalan nationalist movement, consequences of a hypothetical Catalan independence must be known. These are the following: financial “corralito”, exodus of companies, 15 per cent drop on pensions and expulsion from Eurozone.
From my standpoint, there is a secessionist blackmail motivated by continuous concessions by pro-Constitution parties (People’s Party and Socialist Party). Thanks to autonomous communities, nationalists have found needed means to apply its social engineering (socialism) project: false concept of nation, indoctrination, imposition of Catalan language,… This case is one reason more to warn education and media must not depend on politicians.
Moreover, instead of giving massive liquidity injections to the most indebted regions, the president of Spain, Mariano Rajoy ought to have applied some years ago the 155 section of Constitution to end with those defiances to the Rule of Law and practices of nationalist oppression. Even dissolving the autonomous police that has behaved as a “political police”.
By the way, he can still apply that section of Constitution, but it’s being later so maybe a “state of exception” is necessary so as Constitutional Order and Rule of Law can be restored in Catalonia. Unfortunately, Rajoy does not know still how to do.
Meanwhile, Socialist Party asks him to “dialogue” with Puigdemont and communist party PODEMOS believes in an “agreed referendum” (Spanish leftism hates “the idea of Spain”). At the same time, the liberal-democrat Albert Rivera insists in calling for new regional elections.
To conclude, all this is a part of a coup d’État to build a new nationalist and socialist state as in to promote hatred towards Spaniards apart from spreading fallacies.
—
(Photo: Adamba11. A demonstration in defense of the unity of Spain in Catalonia in October 2012)
www.outono.net/…/what-is-really-…