With the protests in Madrid growing stronger every day, the
independence flags in Barcelona are still fluttering. This comes just
three weeks after a massive Catalan separatist march in Barcelona —
the biggest since the 1970s.
The country's crushing recession has had this divisive consequence:
soaring popular sentiment in Catalonia and Spain's second largest city
that the affluent region would be better off as separate nation.
On Thursday, regional lawmakers voted to hold a referendum for
Catalonia's seven million citizens to decide whether they want to
break away from Spain. The Spanish government says that the referendum
would be unconstitutional. And it's unclear if the "Yes" vote would
win — even in these restless times.
But it looks more likely than ever that Catalonia may ask to go its
own way. "I have a big Catalan flag on the balcony. I put it up a week
before the demonstration on Sept. 11 and it is still hanging there,"
said Gemma Mondon, 46, a mother of two. "I think we would be better
off if we can manage our money. I think we would do much better."
Catalonia, a northeastern region that is historically one of Spain's
wealthiest and most industrialized, has always harbored a strong
nationalist streak. Separatism is especially entrenched in the rural
towns and villages outside its more cosmopolitan capital Barcelona,
where people switch between speaking Spanish and Catalan with ease and
at times without even noticing.
In the peaceful transition from the Franco dictatorship to prosperous
democracy, Catalans were content just to recover the freedom to openly
speak, teach and publish in their own Catalan language, a right denied
under Franco for over 30 years.
But now, generations-old grievances for more self-government and
recognition of their culture are rising to the surface as the economic
downturn bites.
Many Catalans feel their quest for a sense for nationhood has been
frustrated by the intransigence of the central government in Madrid.
The most recent of these clashes came in 2010 when Spain's
Constitutional Court weakened the Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia, a
sweeping package of laws that devolved more power to the region and
would have recognized Catalonia as a nation, albeit one within Spain.
'I put the Catalan flag on my balcony for the first time. Normally, I
have been very discreet with my political ideas. But I think now I
have to go a step further'.- Albert Estanyol
Spain's slump, which has led to a spike in unemployment and harsh
austerity cuts, has proven to be the tipping point for many Catalans
who used to be against or ambivalent about seeking their own state.
Mondon, who works for a family run real estate management firm, said
that just over a year ago she voted "No" in a nonbinding referendum
organized by pro-independence groups. Now, she says she has changed
her mind.
"I always felt Spanish and Catalan and I never had the urge to be
independent. A year ago I just wanted to be left alone to speak my
language and raise my children in a Catalan school," said Mondon. "My
attitude was 'don't bother me,' but now that has changed."
Catalonia will go to the polls on Nov. 25, with regional president
Artur Mas' center-right nationalist party Convergencia i Unio expected
to increase its hold of the regional parliament. Mas has said he will
hold a referendum on Catalonia's self-determination, whether the
Spanish government permits it or not. The date has yet to be set.
"If the Spanish government authorizes (the referendum), more the
better," said Mas. "If the Spanish government turns its back on us and
doesn't authorize a referendum or another type of vote, well, we will
do it anyway."
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy insists the country's
constitution doesn't allow a region to secede on its own, and experts
say it would be virtually impossible for Catalan separatists to get it
changed. Spain's Basque region, the other part of the country with a
strong separatist movement, tried to get such a move approved in
Parliament in 2005 but failed.
"It's not a scenario planned by the constitution," said Francisco
Perez-Latre, a communications professor at the University of Navarra
who has closely monitored the Catalan independence movement for years.
The new political uncertainty about the economically important region
and major tourism destination is unsettling for investors already
worried about Rajoy's ability to keep his country's shaky economy
afloat, and within the euro currency club. There are also doubts about
how well-equipped Catalonia would be to go it alone.
Catalonia, sitting on its own mountain of debt, has in fact asked
Spain for a €5.9 billion bailout. But many Catalans argue that the
region is only heavily indebted because it has to pay more than its
fair due in taxes compared to services and funding it gets in return.
Spain's other better-off regions also give more than they receive.
Rajoy, however, has emboldened Catalan separatists by flatly rejecting
demands for more power in levying tax revenues and deciding how it is
spent, privileges granted to two other Spanish regions: the Basque
Country and Navarra.
Rajoy's stance has combined with Spain's gloomy prospects to push
Catalans who never wanted to break away from Spain before to conclude
that the country itself is a failure.
"I put the Catalan flag on my balcony for the first time. Normally, I
have been very discreet with my political ideas. But I think now I
have to go a step further," said architect Albert Estanyol, 48, whose
mother came from southern Spain. "Before, when asked about
independence, I would say 'Why?' Now, I say, 'Why not?'".
Catalonia has over 800,000 unemployed, almost 22 percent of its
population. That's slightly lower than Spain's national jobless rate,
but the back-to-back recessions have been particularly hard on young
workers in Catalonia. Since 2007, over 100,000 Catalans under 25 have
lost their jobs, and the unemployment rate for workers under 25 has
skyrocketed to over 50 percent, close to the national level for the
same age bracket.
"I have looked for work. Since I was 18 I have had six or seven jobs,
they have all been unstable, poorly paid, like filling in for two
weeks at IKEA. They have had nothing to do with what I studied," said
Roger Cervino, a 23-year-old who holds a degree in history.
"The economic situation is bad and one of the solutions to ending the
crisis is secession. It would be complicated, but Catalonia has the
capacity to reach full employment," he said. "What stops it is Spain,
and above all the Spanish government, which has been a disaster."
Based on reporting by the Associated Press.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/09/30/unrest-in-spain-fuels-catalan-separatist-movement/#ixzz27zS3A2i1
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