This is Catalonia.
Catalonia is one of the 17 Autonomous Communities of Spain, and also recognised as a “nationality”.
Its capital city is Barcelona, one of the most visited cities in Europe, ahead of the
nation's capital, Madrid.
Catalonia is an important part of Spain for its strong economy, tourism, and even sport.
Catalonia has their own devolved government, police force, national anthem, language, and
their own distinct culture.
Catalonia has been in the news recently in what many are describing as Spain’s worst
political crisis in decades.
Many of Catalonia’s citizens have been calling for independence for several years, and on
the 1st of October 2017, a referendum was held.
However, Spain did not allow the autonomous community to have a referendum, and it is
in fact against the Spanish Constitution.
So why does Catalonia want independence?
Why don’t they want to be part of Spain?
Well… like I said, Catalonia is very valuable to Spain due to its economy and the tourism
it brings to the country.
Catalonia is one of the richest parts of Spain, and pays around €10 billion more in taxes
per year than it receives in money spent in the region.
But there’s more to it than that.
It isn’t for purely financial reasons.
Catalans take great pride in their culture, their language, and their heritage.
There is a strong sense of nationalism among many Catalans, and they view themselves as
distinct from the rest of Spain.
Of course, Spain does not want to lose such a vital part of its country.
Catalonia makes up about 20% of Spain’s economy, and about a quarter the country’s
exports.
All attempts at achieving independence have been stuck down by Madrid.
Spain does not want to encourage separatist movements, as it could literally break up
the entire country.
So how did Catalonia become part of Spain, and why are they now calling for their independence.
Catalonia became part of Spain through two separate dynastic unions that happened during
the middle ages.
The first one, in 1162, was between the Count of Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon.
The Count of Barcelona was the ruler of various counties known as the Marca Hispanica, created
back in 795 as a buffer zone between Francia and the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, at
the time mostly controlled by the Arab Caliphate.
The first dynastic union created the Crown of Aragon, and France later relinquished all
feudal authority over the counties of the Marca Hispanica.
The next dynastic union in 1469, effectively created the Spain that we know today, between
the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile, with the marriage of Ferdinand II and Isabella
I.
The counties surrounding Barcelona became known as “Catalonia” some time around
the 12th century, and its first constitution was drafted in 1283.
During the Franco-Spanish war in the 17th century, many Catalans revolted against Spain,
and even briefly declared themselves a republic under French protection, but France denounced
Catalonia.
The principality was divided between the two countries when they signed a peace treaty.
At the start of the 18th century, Spain had a succession crisis, which led to a war between
the various claimants.
The throne was taken by Philip V of the Bourbon House, although Catalonia had backed the Archduke
Charles of the Habsburg house.
In response to supporting another monarch, Catalonia lost its autonomy in 1716, with
the Nueva Planta decree, which put it under direct control of Madrid.
Catalonia had always been economically valuable to Spain throughout its history, and this
became especially true in the early 19th century with the industrial revolution.
The economic growth led to a so-called “cultural renaissance” of Catalan art, literature
and language.
However, during the 20th century, Catalan institutions were abolished and Catalan culture
and language were suppressed by two dictators that ruled Spain.
The dictatorship of Francisco Franco was an especially difficult time for Catalonia.
Thousands of people were executed, one of whom was the President of Catalonia at the
time, Lluís Companys.
Spain transitioned to democracy with the death of Franco in 1975.
The country’s new constitution of 1978 created the Autonomous Communities that we have today.
In 2006, a new Statute of Autonomy was passed by referendum in Catalonia, which would give
more devolved powers to the region.
However, the Statute was challenged and taken to the Spanish Constitutional Court.
This caused outrage for many, and fueled Catalan nationalism.
This was further exacerbated when, in 2010, the Court ruled several of the Statute’s
articles to be unconstitutional.
This led to massive street protests in the region’s capital city, Barcelona.
Between 2009 and 2011, local, informal, non-binding referendums took place throughout the various
municipalities of Catalonia.
The results were overwhelmingly in favour of independence, but also had very low turnouts,
averaging less than 30% of eligible voters.
In 2014, a so-called “Citizen Participation Process on the Political Future of Catalonia”
took place after a planned referendum had been suspended by the Spanish Courts.
The re-branded vote was also blocked, but went ahead anyway, with a reported 80% of
the 2.3 million voters in favour of independence.
2017
So this brings us to 2017.
The year in which Catalonia had pledged to hold a legally binding referendum on independence.
The Constitutional Court of Spain declared the referendum illegal, however the Catalan
government stated their intention to go ahead with the vote regardless.
On the 20th of September, the Catalan Parliament was raided by Spanish police, and 14 government
officials were arrested for their involvement in the separatist movement.
So on the 1st of October, the referendum went ahead as planned, despite being ruled illegal
by the Court.
Spanish police were deployed to Catalonia and forcibly prevented thousands of people
from voting, with over 800 being injured in the process.
Despite the police presence, 90% of people voted yes in favour of Catalonia becoming
an independent republic.
The reported turnout was 43%, with 2.2 million votes, with claims that 770,000 people were
prevented from voting.
Of course, there’s no way to know if these numbers are reliable.
And even if they are, turnout was very low, with most of those opposed to independence
boycotting the vote.
The general reaction of the international community was almost universal.
Although condemning the violence used by the Spanish police, the general view has been
that the issue is an internal Spanish problem.
The European Commission said the vote “was not legal” and believes that “these are
times for unity and stability, not divisiveness and fragmentation”.
In the days following the referendum, several major companies, including Catalonia’s largest
bank, announced their intention to move their headquarters away for Barcelona due to the
political instability in the region.
During the first week after the vote, many people took to the streets to protest.
This included those opposed to independence and supportive of the Spanish government.
The following Monday, Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, spoke at the Catalan parliament
for the first time since the vote.
He was expected to make the official declaration of independence, but was extremely ambiguous
with his actions, signing a declaration and then immediately suspending its effects, calling
for dialogue with the Spanish Government.
The next day, the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, issued an ultimatum.
If Catalonia does not drop their independence movement within 8 days, Spain will suspend
their autonomy, by invoking article 155 of the Spanish constitution.
The deadline came and went, with no sign of backing down by the Catalan government, and
on the 27th of October, the Catalan parliament passed a resolution to officially declare
their independence from Spain.
Members of the opposition refused to take part in the vote, walking out of the parliament
in protest.
Just an hour later, the Spanish senate passed a resolution to invoke article 155 and take
direct control of Catalonia, dissolving its devolved government.
Spanish-led elections will take place in Catalonia on the 21st of December.
A lot has happened since the declaration.
The Catalan president fled the country to Brussels, the Spanish attorney general filed
charges of rebellion, sedition, and misuse of public funds against Puigdemont, issuing
a warrant for his arrest.
The deposed president handed himself in to Belgian authorities, but was released with
conditions by the judge.
Back in Catalonia, the political parties agreed to take part in the snap election, and 8 Catalan
ministers have been arrested for their involvement in the independence movement.
Protesters have been calling for the release of the so-called “political prisoners”
Catalonia has yet to receive any international recognition whatsoever, with almost universal
support for Spain.
Catalonia as an independent country
So… could Catalonia actually function as an independent country?
And what would such country look like.
Well, with a population of about 7.5 million, it would be the 21st most populous country
in Europe, just ahead of Bulgaria.
It would have an economy similar in size to that of Portugal, in terms of nominal GDP.
Their capital city would be Barcelona, their flag would be the so-called L'Estelada Blava,
and their official language would be Catalan.
There’s a lot that we do know, but there is also so much they we do NOT know.
For example: Would Catalonia have their own military?
Would they join NATO?
Which currency would they use, could they continue using the Euro?
Would they impose any kind of border control?
What would their visa policies be?
Would they seek EU membership?
Etc.
etc.
There are so many unanswered questions.
As an independent nation, Catalonia could face a wide variety of difficulties.
The most prominent issue would likely be international recognition.
The international community will not recognise an independent Catalonia, unless it was approved
by Spain, and that is something that is not going to happen any time in the foreseeable
future.
So without international recognition, the newly declared republic will be unable to
join the EU, the UN, or any other international organisation.
All of these questions and more are going to need to be addressed, and it’s impossible
to know whether or not Catalonia would be able to maintain its strong economy as an
independent nation.
Now, whether or not Catalonia should be recognised as an independent country, is a difficult
one, and arguments can be made for both sides.
On the one hand, one of the fundamental principles of the UN charter states that people have
a right to self-determination and democracy… but on the other hand, the referendum was
deemed illegal by the Spanish courts, and Catalonia went ahead with it anyway, knowing
full-well that it was against the constitution.
Now, what’s legal and what’s fair aren’t necessarily the same thing, and whether it’s
fair or not, is a matter of opinion.
So what happens next?
Well… with Catalonia’s president not actually in the newly declared country, and with little
resistance to Madrid’s takeover…
things are looking bleak for Catalonia.
Of course, Catalan nationalism is not going anywhere, and the independence movement will
continue on for the foreseeable future... but for the time being at least, Spain certainly
has the upper-hand.
The two parties may be able to reach some kind of compromise, in the form of more devolved
powers to Catalonia, but it might be too little, too late for that.
The future for Catalonia will be a difficult one, regardless of what happens next.
The road to becoming a fully independent country is not going to be an easy one, and may never
happen.
An independence declaration is just the beginning.
If, one day, Catalonia does manage to gain international recognition, it could be the
end of the country of Spain as we know it.
Only time will tell how things play out, and hopefully the situation can be resolved peacefully.
Thanks for watching