By Inmaculada Sanz
MADRID (Reuters) – The Catalans celebrate their national day Thursday with the majority hoping to conduct a self-determination referendum next November despite the outright rejection of the Spanish Government.
A week before a similar consultation in Scotland and the motto “Ara és l’Time” (Now is the time), the independence movement overcoming the expected influx of Dyads earlier, when hundreds of thousands of people claimed in the streets to decide about his relationship with Spain.
“We want to participate in political life and in our future, we have recovered the sovereignty and we have realized the strength we have, that if we mobilize, it is possible to change things, “said Carme Forcadell, president of the Catalan National Congress (ANC), one of the associations that call this mobilization, in an interview with Reuters.
The ANC emerged in 2012 as it expanded the independence sentiment amidst unpopular spending cuts and a recession that has left a 20 percent unemployment in a region that enjoys high levels of autonomy and represents a fifth of the Spanish economy.
The President of the Generalitat, Artur Mas, responded to citizen mobilization last year considering holding a referendum on independence on 9 November, a query that polls show want to make 80 percent Catalans.
Despite their non-binding nature, the Government of Mariano Rajoy considers this illegal referendum and announced that pose an appeal to the Constitutional Court if, as expected, the Catalan Parliament this month approved a law for consultation to take place.
“We can talk about many things (..) with the needs of the Catalans (..), but what you can not ask us (Artur Mas) is not do our duty, “he said last Friday the Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria.
The support for Catalan independence has grown to levels of around 50 according to some polls percent if the average of the two questions you want to ask the Government to do it: “Do you want that Catalonia is a state? And if so, do you want this state to be independent? “.
For the National Day, the movement for secession has gathered at least 500,000 volunteers who hopes to form a V (for Victoria, Voting, Will) in the center of Barcelona, plus a Catalan flag that is visible from the sky.
There are these the only calls to celebrate a day that remembers the 300th anniversary of the fall Barcelona held by the troops of King Felipe V. The Civil Catalan Society, which supported some socialist leaders, and Free and Equal platform, whose spokesperson is the deputy of the PP Cayetana Alvarez de Toledo, organize events towards coexistence between Catalan and Spanish.
IF PUJOL
Some experts say that the mobilization of this year could be affected by the scandal of the Catalan president Jordi Pujol, who admitted last July having undeclared money abroad for over 30 years and two of whose sons are being investigated for corruption.
The separatists believe that despite the disappointment this case has meant for many voters Convergència and Unio, the party founded by Pujol and currently in power in Catalonia, citizens come out massively to the streets.
“How can it be that in a European country prohibits a party of citizens go to the polls to answer a question we are all doing? Is it true that we are many? We will tell, “he told Reuters Muriel Casas, president of Cultural Òmnium, another of the organizations behind the march of 11-S.
Although the idea of an identity has been recurrent in Catalonia , towards radicalization poses independence gained momentum following a Constitutional Court ruling that substantially cut the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, which had been polished and voted at the polls in Catalonia in 2006.
After several resources , one of the Popular Party now in power in Spain, the Constitutional ruled in 2010 that most of the autonomous text conformed to law, but merely some aspects, especially those relating to language and justice, and it was decided that the term “nation,” which appears in other statutes such as Andalusia, lacked legal effect.
“Everything is coming out today is that unease. Obviously if you are putting pebbles in everyday shoes, if you from call to call, you want to like you .. Why on Earth do you call Andalusia and Catalonia nation not? “Says professed
By Inmaculada Sanz
MADRID (Reuters) – The Catalans celebrate their national day Thursday with the majority hoping to conduct a self-determination referendum next November despite the outright rejection of the Spanish Government
A week before a similar consultation in Scotland and the motto “Ara és l’Time” (Now is the time), the independence movement overcoming the expected influx of Dyads earlier, when hundreds of thousands of people claimed to the streets to decide about his relationship with Spain.
“We want to participate in political life and in our future, we have recovered the sovereignty and we have realized the strength we have, that if we mobilize it is possible to change things, “said Carme Forcadell, president of the Catalan National Congress (ANC), one of the associations that call this mobilization, in an interview with Reuters.
The ANC emerged in 2012 to to grow the independence sentiment amidst unpopular spending cuts and a recession that has left a 20 percent unemployment in a region that enjoys high levels of autonomy and represents a fifth of the Spanish economy.
The President of the Generalitat, Artur Mas, responded to citizen mobilization last year considering holding a referendum on independence on 9 November, a query that polls show want to make 80 percent of Catalans .
Despite their non-binding nature, the Government of Mariano Rajoy considers this illegal referendum and announced that pose an appeal to the Constitutional Court if, as expected, the Catalan Parliament approved this month Query a law to carry it out.
“We can talk about many things (..) with the needs of the Catalans (..), but what we can not ask (Artur Mas) is we fulfill our duty, “he said last Friday the Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria.
The support for Catalan independence has grown to levels of around according to some polls 50 percent if the average between the two questions you want to ask the Government is: “Does that Catalonia is a state? And if so, do you want this state to be independent? “.
For the National Day, the movement for secession has gathered at least 500,000 volunteers who hopes to form a V (for Victoria, Voting, Will) in the center of Barcelona, plus a Catalan flag that is visible from the sky.
There are these the only calls to celebrate a day that remembers the 300th anniversary of the fall Barcelona held by the troops of King Felipe V. The Civil Catalan Society, which supported some socialist leaders, and Free and Equal platform, whose spokesperson is the deputy of the PP Cayetana Alvarez de Toledo, organize events towards coexistence between Catalan and Spanish.
IF PUJOL
Some experts say that the mobilization of this year could be affected by the scandal of the Catalan president Jordi Pujol, who admitted last July having undeclared money abroad for over 30 years and two of whose sons are being investigated for corruption.
The separatists believe that despite the disappointment this case has meant for many voters Convergència and Unio, the party founded by Pujol and currently in power in Catalonia, citizens come out massively to the streets.
“How can it be that in a European country prohibits a party of citizens go to the polls to answer a question we are all doing? Is it true that we are many? We will tell, “he told Reuters Muriel Casas, president of Cultural Òmnium, another of the organizations behind the march of 11-S.
Although the idea of an identity has been recurrent in Catalonia , towards radicalization poses independence gained momentum following a Constitutional Court ruling that substantially cut the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, which had been polished and voted at the polls in Catalonia in 2006.
After several resources , one of the Popular Party now in power in Spain, the Constitutional ruled in 2010 that most of the autonomous text conformed to law, but merely some aspects, especially those relating to language and justice, and it was decided that the term “nation,” which appears in other statutes such as Andalusia, lacked legal effect.
“Everything is coming out today is that unease. Obviously if you are putting pebbles in everyday shoes, if you from call to call, you want to like you .. Why on Earth do you call Andalusia and Catalonia nation not? “Says Professor of Political Science at the Complutense University Jaime Ferri.
The straw that broke the camel for many Catalans were the effects of the economic crisis, which took their toll among the 7.5 million inhabitants of the region, many of whom feel they bring to state more than what they get in return for their taxes.
A CONSULTATION UNLIKELY DESPITE SCOTLAND
Although the pro-independence groups claim that the Catalan institutions can continue to query any suspension of Constitutional, political analysts do not see it likely.
“It’s fairly accepted, at least from the informed part of society, that there will be consultation,” he told Reuters Jordi Guiu Professor of Political Science at the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.
But chooses to respect the law, Guiu believes that a period of uncertainty that is likely to end in early elections as a referendum would open that according surveys, benefit of independence Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC).
“We are not interested in having elections, although polls say that the result would be excellent for us (..). We are doing something very important, historic, we have promised and to which we are committed, “said parliamentary spokesman for ERC, Alfred Bosch, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.
Independence movements look with envy to Scotland, where the Sept. 18 citizens can decide whether they want continue to belong to the UK after 307 years of union.
Bosch claims to have the feeling that processes such as Catalan and Scottish are unstoppable, and therefore believes that the European Union will end up accepting the emergence of new states they can continue using the euro and continue to belong to the block.
“Sure there are a thousand obstacles, it will not be easy, the road is full of rocks, but if people want it in Catalonia, Catalonia will independent, and knows that any European and any Spanish, “Bosch said.
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