Spain is in the middle of a political battle that threatens to split the country.
The region of Catalonia held a referendum to decide if they wanted to become an independent
state.
And therefore separate from Spain.
The Spanish constitutional courts ruled the referendum illegal and the central government
tried to stop it from happening.
They arrested government officials who were planning on holding the vote, confiscated
ballots, and closed polling stations.
Undeterred the regional Catalan government announced that voters could print their ballots
at home and vote at any open polling station.
It didn’t take long for the situation to escalate.
Nearly 1000 people were injured in the violence.
As for the results, 90 percent of participants voted to secede.
This would seem like almost unanimous approval, but less than half of all eligible voters
in Catalonia turned out to vote.
Based on the results, the Catalan government has declared independence from Spain unilaterally.
In response the Spanish government is preparing an unprecedented take over OF Catalonia’s
regional powers which will remove its leaders from office.
So how did they get here?
Spain is made up of 17 semi-autonomous regions, each with their own identity.
Some, like Catalonia, are distinct enough that they have their own language, as well
as culture, cuisine and literature.
Spain is a decentralized unified state.
That means that autonomous regions like Catalonia, are governed according to the national constitution
as well as laws enacted independently by each regional government.
But it wasn’t always this way.
From 1939 to 1975 Spain lived under a fascist dictatorship.
Francisco Franco eliminated democratic liberties, freedom of the press and political opposition.
He also crushed regional diversity around the country to impose a single national identity.
For Catalonia that meant suppressing the Catalan language as well as local traditions.
It was a big blow to the Catalan culture.
When Franco died in 1975, Spain transitioned into a democracy and the newly created constitution
expanded autonomy in the regions.
they still use today.
The constitution allowed Catalonia’s self governance.
It recognized Catalan as an official language of Catalonia.
And while specifically recognizing autonomy in the regions that comprise Spain, it also
cemented that Spain was indivisible.
As Spain’s democracy strengthened, so did Catalonia’s pride.
We are Catalan, we feel Catalan we speak Catalan and it’s another culture.
Then, for the first time since the constitution was created, Catalans tried to expand their
autonomy, The 2006 referendum called for many things, including:
To create a new economic model for Catalonia To define Catalonia as a nation
And to privilege the Catalan language over Spanish
After four years of legal battles the constitutional court struck down some of the amendments.
When the constitutional ruling was announced, one million Catalans went to the streets of
Barcelona, where they carried signs that read “We are a nation.
We decide."
There are economic motivations for independence too.
Catalonia is one of the most prosperous regions in Spain.
It takes up only 6 percent of the country, but it accounts for one fifth of Spain’s
economic output.
In 2016 nearly 21 percent of Spain’s tax revenue came from Catalonia.
We pay a lot of taxes, they take them away and they don’t return it in better infrastructure
or better living conditions.
Pro-independence Catalans believe Catalonia pays too much money into the central government
compared to what it gets in return.
Catalonia, like Madrid and other richer regions, support the poorer parts of Spain.
This sentiment grew during the European economic crisis.
when a wave of unemployment hit Spain.
But despite growing support, the majority of Catalans don’t want independence.
And while support for independence has been close to 50 percent, the majority of Catalans
do not want to leave Spain.
Low income families are less likely to support independence than those who are well off.
As are Catalans who live in cities compared to those who live in rural areas.
Which brings us back to today.
Banks and multinationals have started to move their headquarters out of Barcelona to other
Spanish regions.
Catalan separatists have turned to Europe for support, but most European Union leaders
have sided with the central government.
They have made it clear that an independent Catalonia would have to apply for EU membership,
a process that would take years.
And while the fight on Catalan independence will eventually be settled, it may take a
long time for Catalonia and Spain to return to peaceful coexistence.