Homage to Catalonia: 2013

“A nation is a group of people united by a common

 mistake regarding its origin and a collective hostility

 towards its neighbours”.

(Professor Shlomo Sand in a quote from Karl W. Deutsch).

Some people regard the present catalan nationalism eruption as a result of the systemic crisis, more severe in Spain due to the construction bubble, that has increased the unemployment to an unusual rate. Catalonia suffers also the impact of the crisis  and demands to the Central Government of Spain a new fund-sharing more profitable.

But in fact, Catalan nationalism is a dormant volcano that erupts from time to time and catches the spanish Central Government on the wrong foot.

Let us recall a bit of history:

On September 14th, Catalonia celebrates its National Holiday, what is, in fact, a day in memory of Rafael Casanova, leader of the Catalan Government who died in 1716 during the final battle against the invading army sent by the Bourbon PhilipV.

After that defeat, the old democratic Catalan institutions (Corts y Consell de Cent) were abolished and a militar authority was imposed. New taxes were created and old ones increased. Castilian became the official language, which cooperated on the progressive Catalan extinction in favour of Castilian.

It was not until 1932 that Catalonia first obtained a Statute of Autonomy. It

happened during the Second Spanish Republic. After Catalonia was occupied by Franco’s army, the Statute was abolished, Catalan self-government was harshly suppressed and the usage of Catalan language banned. The Prime Minister of the Generalitat, Lluís Companys, was handed to Franco by the German Gestapo and shooted.

In 1979, after Franco’s death, the second Statute was approved by referendum.

It was the fruit of a  compromise reached in the middle of a very serious threat posed by a coup. It was a reminiscent of 1932’s treaty.

 On september 30th 2005, the Parliament of Catalonia approved a new Statute, that subsequently was deepely curtailed by the Central Congress and Senate. Even so, it was approved on a referendum held in Catalonia in june 16th 2006, and enforced on august 9th same year.

The Partido Popular, a spanish right-wing party, labelled the Statute as confederate and even as secessionist, and made an appeal to the Spanish Constitutional Court to reject the text. Rajoy, the chief of opposition, took to the streets to collect signatures against the Statute.

The firm sentence of this Court turned out in another significant curtailment of primitive text; a fact that from any theory of democracy point of view leaves a little to be desired, since the Estatut was approved by the legislative chambers, both spanish and catalan, that represent the mayority of citizens, whereas the Constitutional Court is a small group chosed by cooptation by the main parties leaders. 

Fourteen articles y sections of the Statute were rejected and 27 more were reinterpreted;  mainly those relatives to an Autonomic Justice, Tax collection  and Oficial Language. Nevertheless one of the most conflictive points was about the term „ Nation.“.

What is it? says John Wyse. —A nation? says Bloom. A nation is the

same people living in the same place. —By God, then, says Ned,

 laughing, if that’s so I’m a nation for I’m living in the same place

 for the past five years. (Quoted from „Ulysses“ by James Joyce).

The first article of the Statute stated „Catalonia is a nation“.

Strong discussions were held regarding that term. Former President J. L.R. Zapatero said in the Senate that the concept of  Nation is „debatable“ and „controversial“. A sentence that was quoted out of context by the conservative press and right-wing politicians. Zapatero, a former professor  of Constitutional  Law, regreted later to have caused such a confrontation.

The statement was removed from the Article and translated to the Preamble, where it has no political or legal significance.

 A língua é minha Pátria" (F. Pessoa)

Another boiling point was the use of Catalan language at school and at the Administration.

The first project attempted to make the Catalan a predominant language at school and even at the Central Administration in Catalonia.

The final text sets the right to use and the duty to know one of the two languages on a co-official basis.

Nevertheless, Article 4 states that: “Catalonia’s own language is Catalan”.

Also, the new Estatut introduces de plurilingal principle (aranés dialect is also included) in the Central Administration of the State.

Art. 6.3 states: „The Generalitat and the State shall undertake the necessary measures to obtain official status for Catalan within the European Union and its presence and use in international organisations and in international treaties of cultural or linguistic content. the International Institut“.

Catalan has been since long ago a boiling point between Spanish (Castilian) nationalism und Catalan nationalism. A point often settled by force by the Castilians:

After the defeat of catalan nationalists in 1716, the king Philip V issued a decree dictating to the corregidores the following order:

“Castilian language should be introduce as carefully as posible, so the most mild, discreet and disguised  directives will be provided in order to achieve the desied effect without noticing any intention”.

Dictator Franco was less subtle. He banned abruptly any use of catalan under the threat of strong sanctions. The result was patently shown after Franco’s death: most of catalans were not able to write catalan. The language had been preserved orally.

Castilians tried of;enly to justify his rejection to Catalan saying  “Why to learn a language only  by nine million people spoken if Spanish is spoken by 400 millions?"  Another argument considers Spanish as a more powerful tool for knowledge. A simple comment that reminiscences when Adolfo Suarez, the first  Prime Minister after Franco’s death, was in a official visit to Barcelona. There, chatting in a group at the University, he smiled a bit smuggly and said „We understand that Organic Chemistry cannot be taught in Catalan“. The answer was „President; we have been teaching Organic Chemistry for many years“.

Castilians did not realized the advantages of bilinguism as a new culture added.

Catalan and Castilian come from the Vulgar Latin and were formed more o less along the same centuries. Catalan has in its favor from Castilian its richness of wovels sounds –Castilian has only five vowels sounds, whatever some linguistics said-. That makes easier for catalans the approach to another foreign languages. (Old romans mocked primitive spaniards for they were unable to pronounce the liquid „S“, like in Scipion.)   

We have exposed heretofore the long war between two nationalisms: the week catalan nationalism and the stronger spanish (castilian) nationalism.

The Spanish philosopher J. Ortega y Gasset wrote in 1921 about this problem in his essay “Invertebrate Spain”:

“When a society consumes due to its particularism, we can always affirm that the first to show as a particularist  was  precisely the Central Power. And that is what has happened in Spain…..Castile has built Spain and Castile has demolished  it“.

How are things at this stage?

On September 11th last year, a new political-social movement, the Catalan National Assembly, (ANC), created in the past two years, called the catalans for a big demonstration with the aim of  achiving the political independence of Catalonia.

The Assemblea Nacional Catalana (Catalan National Assembly, ANC), a non governmental group, is an organization that aims at regaining the political independence of Catalonia trough the establishment of a free and democratic State.

The massive turnout surprised all and sundry, around one million people –callers proclaim two millions-. In any case, it was the most massive demonstration ever  celebrated in Catalonia. The organizers of ANS stated that meant the „consolidation phase“ previous to get the social majority to win the independence referendum.

 After that massive demonstration, Artur Mas, President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and leader of Convergència, a wright-wing nationalist party, felt his moment had arrived, and tried to  capitalizes the 11th-s crowd to push Mariano Rajoy (the Spanish Prime Minister) into increasing the sharing-fund the Central Administration distributes to Catalonia.

What, in fact, President Mas wanted was to make the grant of Navarre and the Basque Country the same for Catalonia. He claimed Catalonia was suffering discrimination.

Basically, Navarre and the Basque Country, due to historical rights, manage by themselves their government finances, like a sovereign state; a peculiar fact, unknown in any other country, democratic or not. They collect their taxes, they establish them, and so they rule their Autonomous Communities. This is named „el cupo“.

Central Government explains that Navarre has 642.000 inhabitants and the Basque Country a little over two millions (2.184.000) , whereas Catalonia has 7.5 millions; so an extra „cupo“ that the rest of the country possibly cannot afford.  

 Both Presidents (Rajoy and Mas) met last month in Madrid. Rajoy was adamant about his stance and no compromise was agreed. From that meeting, Mas, perhaps thinking in the recent secessionist demostration called early elections. He should’n have done it! His coallition CiU lost 12 seats in the Parliament and failed to obtain an absolute majority.

Why this confrontation now, since both right-wing parties help usually each other against other political forces?

One theory explains that both political groupings are having problems because of its budgetary deficits as well as the corruption –huger in Rajoy’s party-. The confrontation might be the goal to divert the attention of the people, to stir people up, appealing  in both nationalisms the everlasting affront.

To the threat of catalan sovereignty and seccesion, spanish nacionalistics reaction is, some times, paternalistic: ”What are you going to do alone?” An argument that ignores that Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Island were a united country until the beginning of last century, and now they have populations similar o even lower than Catalonia, with very high standard of life.   

In some other cases there are menacing reactions, some of them a bit  childish “If you go, you couldn’t enter the EU, we’ll veto you”: Probably they ignore that 656 kilometers separate Catalonia from France, and that in retaliation for the veto, the citrics and other commodities probably had to go by ship to Europe, from Valencia to the Port of Marseille.

There are also some supercilious people that flap their hands saying: Beat it! Beat it!

The Spanish Government goes for appealing to the 1978 Spanish Constitution, that in its Preliminary Title state the sovereignty on the spanish people as well as the unbreakable unit of the spanish Nation.

That means that any referendum should be held by the whole spanish population. This is a point of friction since catalans wish held a referendum with the catalan population both catalan and castilian-speaking citizens.

 

In conclusion: 

Quoting former british Prime Minister Harold Wilson: “A week is a long time in politics.”:

Should catalan Government call for a referendum for sovereignty, it might be prohibited by Spanish Constitutional Court.

If  it takes place in spite of that prohibition, catalan leaders might be accused of rebellion, which would increase the affronts to their dignity of both nationalisms.

The most reasonable proposal appears as to be that of letting the catalan people a free  right to chose, which does not mean an automatic secessionism.

A closer examination of the situation should take in account the results of last  referendum as well as the 2012 elections:

The Estatut was approved with the 74% of votes, but there was not a turn-out of voters –less than 50%; whereas in 1979, the Estatut reached the 88.15 of approval with a higher participation.

The right to choise will probably calm down the feelings, and the probability of secession doesnot appear so high.

Not to forget that nacionalism uprisings arise from time to time like volcanos, but political movements like ANC’s are tsunamies, that hardly ever repeat.

In any case, should be remember than in 1945 there were 51 Sates as members of the United Nations: Today there are 193. Not to talk of current map of Europe.

Julio G. Mardomingo

llustrations: 

Monument to Rafael Casanova in Barcelona
Pamphley against Statut 1932

Lluís Companys

Rajoy  collects signatures agains the Satut

Franco visits Barcelona

Diada 2012