THE SPANISH REGION OF CATALONIA HELD A REFERENDUM
RECENTLY, OVER THE PAST WEEKEND AND THE REFERENDUM OF COURSE HAS
TO DO WITH THE IDEA OF SEPARATING FROM SPAIN AND
THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OF MADRID.
BEFORE I GIVE THE DETAILS ON HOW THAT REFERENDUM WENT AND THEN
SAY NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WERE INJURED DUE TO POLICE BRUTALITY,
I WANT TO SHARE THE MOST RECENT UPDATE WHICH INVOLVES THE
KING OF SPAIN AND A VERY RARE SPEECH THAT HE GAVE TODAY WHICH
WAS RATHER FORCEFUL IN REGARD TO BEING AGAINST THE SEPARATISTS
AND MAKING STATEMENTS CALLING FOR UNITY
IN SPAIN.
HE ALSO SAID:
QUICKLY LET'S TALK ABOUT THE ECONOMIC ISSUES AT PLAY HERE.
IF CATALONIA WERE TO SEPARATE FROM SPAIN, SPAIN WOULD LOSE
20% OF ITS ECONOMY.
SOME OF ITS MOST WEALTHY PEOPLE LIVING CATALONIA.
THERE IS AN INCOME OR WEALTH WRISTER REDISTRIBUTION ISSUE
THERE WERE THESE WEALTHY EARNERS OBVIOUSLY PAY MORE IN TAXES.
THOSE TAXES ARE REDISTRIBUTED TO THE POOR COMMUNITIES AMONGST THE
SPANISH AND ANOTHER THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT CATALONIA
ACTUALLY OWNS A HUGE PORTION OF THE PUBLIC DEBT AND ONE
PROBLEM IS THAT THEY SEPARATE, THEY WOULDN'T BE ALL
BEGINNING TO PAY THAT DEBT TO THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT.
THOSE ARE SOME OF THE KEY ISSUES AT PLAY HERE.
I WANT TO BE CLEAR ABOUT
SOMETHING.
ALTHOUGH THE DAY THAT THEY VOTED, UNFORTUNATELY ENDED
IN TURMOIL AND VIOLENCE MAINLY BECAUSE OF THE POLICE
RESPONSE TO THOSE PROTESTERS, TODAY WAS LARGELY PEACEFUL.
IS SEEMS MORE AS A CELEBRATORY DAY AS OPPOSED TO A DAY MET WITH
VIOLENCE SO HERE IS SOME VIDEO KIND OF SHOWING YOU WHAT IT
LOOKED LIKE AND THESE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE AGAIN,
CALLING FOR THE SEPARATION OF CATALONIA FROM SPAIN.
THE PEOPLE OF CATALONIA AND PROTESTERS OR VOTERS WERE
NEVER VIOLENT.
IT WAS THE COPS WHO WERE VIOLENT AND OFTEN,
THE STATE STRUT THE WORLD WILL DO THIS.
THEY WILL SAY, WE ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE VIOLENCE.
YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS VIOLENT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
LOOK, THE COURT IN SPAIN SAID THAT THIS BUT WAS NOT LEGAL.
I AM NOT A CONSTITUTIONAL EXPERT IN FATE SPAIN, SO I DON'T KNOW
IF THAT IS TRUE OR UNTRUE, IF THAT WAS A CORRECT RULING OR NOT
BUT I DO KNOW THAT THE GOVERNMENT'S REACTION WAS
DISASTROUS SO IF THE VOTE IS NOT LEGAL ANYWAY AND THE COURT
SEVERAL THAT IT IS NOT VALID, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO GO IN
THERE WITH BATONS AND SHOOTING RUBBER BULLETS AT PEOPLE
WHO ARE TRYING TO VOTE AND GRABBING THEM BY THE HAIR
AND DRAGGING THEM OUT OF THE VOTING BOOTH .RU INSANE?
WHAT A TERRIBLE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE RESPONSE.
WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT YOUNG, HEALTHY PEOPLE THAT
WERE MET WITH VIOLENCE.
THERE WAS FOOTAGE SHOWING ELDERLY PEOPLE BEING DRAGGED OUT
OF THE VOTING BOOTH AND THAT TYPE OF BEHAVIOR WHICH WAS
UNCALLED FOR AND THERE WERE EVEN SOME OF THE SEPARATIST LEADERS
WHO ADMITTED TO THE PRESS THAT THIS IS ESSENTIALLY A NONBINDING
VOTE CONSIDERING HOW THE COURTS HAVE REACTED TO IT BUT THE
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN REALLY REACTED AGGRESSIVELY
TO THIS REFERENDUM.
GOING BACK TO THE REFERENDUM, WHAT HAPPENED?
ABOUT 42% OF VOTERS SHOWED UP TO THE POLLS WERE PART OF THE
REASON WHY VOTER TURNOUT WAS SO LOW WAS BECAUSE OF THE
INTIMIDATION TACTICS BY SPAIN'S CENTRAL GOVERNMENT.
BECAUSE OF THE POLICE VIOLENCE AROUND ALMOST 900 PEOPLE WERE
INJURED AND THAT IS ACCORDING TO CATTLE ON OFFICIALS.
IF YOU WANTED TO BE THE POINT MAKE THE POINT, DON'T WORRY,
SPAIN IS A DEMOCRACY IN YOUR FOR FULL FREEDOM OF YOUR RIGHT START
YOU PICKED A CURIOUS WAY TO DO IT THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO BOW?
BY THE DOORS, RIP OF THE BALLOTS, BEAT THE PEOPLE UP
YOU ARE TRYING TO VOTE.
THAT IS NOT A WINNING STRATEGY TO WIN HEARTS AND MINDS.
ESPECIALLY IF YOU CLAIM TO VALUE DEMOCRACY BECAUSE
THAT MEANS THAT ANYONE YOU DISAGREE WITH, YOU WILL
MEET THEM WITH VIOLENCE.
THAT IS NOT DEMOCRACY.
SO LOOK, IS A VERY HARD ISSUE AND IT IS AN ISSUE THAT A
LOT OF COUNTRY STRUGGLE WITH.
IN THE CASE OF SPAIN, THEY 17 DIFFERENT REGIONS.
THEY ALL BREAK UP, IF CATALONIA GOES, GOD KNOWS WHO GOES NEXT.
THE UK HAS TO DEAL WITH THIS WAS SCOTLAND FROM TIME TO TIME.
THERE ARE PLENTY OF COUNTRIES WITH POLICE HAVE TO DEAL
WITH THIS.
IT'S AN ISSUE WE HAVE TO GRAPPLE WITH IS THE WORLD AND THERE
ARE NO EASY ANSWERS BUT I KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER ISN'T WHICH
IS VIOLENCE BY THE STATE.
LET THEM HAVE THEIR VOTE AND THEN ADJUDICATE LEADER LEE
WHETHER IT IS VALID OR NOT.
LET THE CONSEQUENCES FLOW FROM THERE.
IT MIGHT TURN OUT THAT YES, SOME COUNTRIES THAT WE ARE USED
TO WIND UP BREAKING APART AND GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER
AND LATER, THEY MIGHT COME BACK TOGETHER.
LOOK WHAT HAPPENED IN EUROPE.
I KNOW GOES BACK AND FORTH.
THERE WERE ENDLESS WARS IN EUROPE.
HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF WAR, THOUSANDS, ONE WAR WAS
LITERALLY HUNDRED YEARS AND THEN THEY CAME BACK TOGETHER IN
THE EUROPEAN UNION AND NOW AGAIN, THE UK LEAVING.
THE ANSWER IS DEFINITELY NOT VIOLENCE, IT IS DEMOCRACY
AND A LEGAL PROCESS.
IF YOU BELIEVE IN YOUR DEMOCRACY IN YOUR LEGAL PROCESS, LET
THAT RAIN AND THEN YOU MIGHT HAVE MORE CREDIBILITY WITH
THE PEOPLE OF CATALONIA.
AND JUST A QUICK, AS I DO WANT TO DO THE STORY JUSTICE.
JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME HISTORICAL CONTEXT, THIS IS NOT AN
ISSUE THAT JUST AROSE.
THERE WAS A SIMILAR THOUGH BACK IN 2014
AND THE MAJORITY OF THOSE WHO DID MAKE IT OUT TO THE
POLLS WERE LARGELY IN FAVOR OF SEPARATING.
THE REGION HELD A SYMBOLIC POLL IN 2014 IN WHICH 80%
OF VOTERS BACKED COMPLETE SECESSION BUT ONLY 32%
OF THE ELECTORATE TURNED OUT.
THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT IS ARGUING THAT OUR
CONSTITUTION INDICATES THAT IF YOU WANT TO SEPARATE, IF YOU
WANT TO DO THIS, YOU NEED OPEN AT THAT VOTE TO ALL SPANIARDS.
THEY MENTIONED THE SPANISH CONSTITUTION IN ORDER TO MAKE
THAT ARGUMENT AND IT WAS REVISED IN 1978 BUT THERE WAS ALSO
SOMETHING SUPER INTERESTING THAT HAPPENED IN THE EARLY 2000S.
BACK IN 2006, THERE WAS ESSENTIALLY AN AGREEMENT BY THE
PARLIAMENT IN SPAIN AND CATALONIA THAT CATALONIA
WOULD BE ITS OWN SEPARATE NATION BUT THEN FOUR YEARS LATER,
THE COURTS CAME IN AND THEY ARE LIKE, NO.
THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
SO THEY ESSENTIALLY SAID, YOU GUYS ARE, CATALONS ARE
NATIONALITY, BUT YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN NATION AND SO IT HAS
GONE BACK AND FORTH FURTHER IRRITATING PEOPLE AND
FRUSTRATING PEOPLE SO AS CENK UYGUR MENTIONED IT IS A
DIFFICULT SITUATION, BUT THAT IS
CURRENTLY WHAT IS GOING ON IN SPAIN RIGHT NOW.
AND FRANCO BACK IN THE DAY, OPPRESSED CATALONIA AND THAT IS
HOW IT STARTED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
LET'S NOT MAKE THAT
MISTAKE.