Barcelona mayor warns against independence from Spain
October 10, 2017
Ahead of a possible declaration of independence by Catalonia's regional government, Barcelona's mayor has urged both sides to resolve the impasse. Catalonia is feeling the economic pains of its drive for independence.
The results from the Catalan independence referendum "cannot be an endorsement to proclaim independence but they constitute the possibility of opening a dialogue and international mediation," Barcelona's popular mayor said.
But despite coming out against independence, Colau accused Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of being the "main culprit" in what she described as "the most severe institutional crisis since the re-establishment of democracy in Spain."
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She said the Spanish prime minister had only inflamed tensions by threatening to use a constitutional clause that would allow Madrid to impose control over Catalonia's otherwise autonomous governing institutions.
"Don't take any decision that would dynamite the space for dialogue and mediation," Colau said in a public address directed both at Rajoy and Catalonia's regional president Carles Puigdemont. "That's the bravest thing that you can do at this moment."
Puigdemont is due to address the regional parliament at 6:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday (1600 UTC), where he may unilaterally declare independence for the northeastern Spanish region in defiance of the Spanish central government and national courts. The Catalan parliament is then expected to vote on the motion, with Madrid worried it will vote in favor of the independence declaration.
Pressure on Catalan leader mounting
Puigdemont, however, has come under increasing pressure at home and abroad to refrain from declaring independence. Rajoy has already threatened to deprive Catalonia of its autonomous status, while European leaders have almost unanimously refused to recognize Catalonia as an independent country.
The 'Banco Sabadell', the fifth-largest banking group in Spain, has announced plans to relocate its headquarters from Catalonia.Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS.com/M. Oesterle
A potential Catalan secession from Spain would also have major economic ramifications. Several major banks have already announced plans to move their headquarters out of Catalonia. On Monday, motorway operator Abertis said it would move its main offices from Barcelona to Madrid.
Spain would also suffer economically from Catalan secession, with the region accounting for around a fifth of Spain's economic output and more than a quarter of exports.
The Catalan independence referendum saw 90 percent of voters come out in favor of independence of Spain, though turnout was only around 43 percent, with many opponents choosing to boycott the vote. Madrid had also declared the referendum as illegal.
Around 900 people were injured on polling day, as Spanish authorities disrupted the "outlawed" vote by firing rubber bullets and storming crowds.
The party, which itself advocates for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom, called on the UN and the EU to resolve the political impasse over the Catalan referendum.
Scottish leaders decried the scenes of violence during the vote, with one SNP lawmaker who was in Catalonia on voting day, Joanna Cherry, saying she had witnessed "repression on a scale I never expected to see in a Western European democracy."
The Scottish party paid tribute to "the patient, determined and non-violent behavior of the voters of Catalonia" and stressed their support for the right to self-determination.
Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
The desire of many Catalans to gain independence from Spain has a long history. The region has experienced varying levels of autonomy and repression over the centuries.
Image: picture-alliance/Prisma Archivo
Rich ancient heritage
Catalonia has been settled by the Phoenicians, the Etruscans and the Greeks, who were mainly in the coastal areas of Rosas and Empuries (above). Then came the Romans, who built more settlements and infrastructure. Catalonia remained a part of the Roman Empire until it was conquered by the Visigoths in the fifth century.
Image: Caos30
Counties and independence
Catalonia was conquered by Arabs in 711 AD. The Frankish king Charlemagne stopped their advance at Tours on the Loire River and, by 759, the north of Catalonia was once again Christian. In 1137, the counties that made up Catalonia entered an alliance with the Crown of Aragon.
Image: picture-alliance/Prisma Archiv
Autonomy and the war of succession
In the 13th century, the institutions of Catalan self-administration were created under the banner of the Generalitat de Catalunya. After the unification of the Crown of Aragon with that of Castile in 1476, Aragon was largely able to keep its autonomic institutions. However, the Catalan revolt — from 1640 to 1659 — saw parts of Catalonia ceded to present-day France.
Image: picture-alliance/Prisma Archivo
Remembrance of defeat
After the conquest of Barcelona on September 11, 1714, by the Bourbon King Phillip V, Catalan instuitutions were dissolved and self-administration came to an end. Every year, on September 11, Catalans commemorate the end of their right to autonomy.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/L. Gene
Federal ideas in wider republic
After the abdication of King Amadeo I of Spain, the first Spanish Republic was declared in February 1873. It lasted barely a year. The supporters of the Republic were split – one group supporting the idea of a centralized republic, the others wanting a federal system. Pictured here is Francisco Pi i Maragall, a supporter of federalism and one of five presidents of the short-lived republic.
Image: picture-alliance/Prisma Archivo
Failed attempt
Catalonia sought to establish a new state within the Spanish republic, but this only served to exacerbate the differences between republicans, ultimately dividing and weakening them. In 1874, the monarchy and the House of Bourbon (led by King Alfonso XII, pictured here) took the helm.
Image: picture-alliance/Quagga Illustrations
Catalan Republic
Between 1923 — with the support of the monarchy, the army and the church — General Primo de Rivera declared a dictatorship. Catalonia became a center of opposition and resistance. After the end of the dictatorship, the politician Francesc Macia (pictured here) successfully pressed for important rights of autonomy for Catalonia.
The end of freedom
In the Second Spanish Republic, Catalan lawmakers worked on the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia. This was approved by the Spanish parliament in 1932. Francesc Macia was elected president of the Generalitat of Catalonia by the Catalan parliament. However, the victory of Franco at the end of the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) put an end to all that.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Loss of liberties
The Franco regime ruled with an iron rod. Political parties were banned and the Catalan language and culture were surpressed.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
New autonomy by statute
After the first parliamentary elections that followed the end of the Franco dictatorship, the Generalitat of Catalonia was provisionally restored. Under the democratic Spanish constitution of 1978, Catalonia was given a new Statute of Autonomy just a year later.
The new Statute of Autonomy recognized the autonomy of Catalonia and the importance of the Catalan language. In comparison to the 1932 statute, it was enhanced in the fields of culture and education but curtailed when it came to the realm of justice. Pictured here is Jordi Pujol, the long-time head of the government of Catalonia after the dictatorship.
Image: Jose Gayarre
Stronger self-awareness
A desire for independence has grown stronger in recent years. In 2006, Catalonia was given a new statute that broadened the Catalan government's powers. However, it lost these after a complaint by the conservative Popular Party to the Constitutional Court of Spain.
Image: Reuters/A.Gea
First referendum
A referendum on independence was already envisaged for November 9, 2014. The first question was "Do you want Catalonia to become a state?" In the case of an affirmative answer, the second question was posed: "Do you want this state to be independent?" However, the Constitutional Court suspended the vote.
Image: Reuters/G. Nacarino
Clash of the titans
Since January 2016, Carles Puigdemont has been president of the Catalan government. He proceeded with the separatist course of his predecessor Artur Mas and called the new referendum for October 1, 2017. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy dismissed this as unconstitutional.
