The Atlantic: The Myths That Fuel the Catalan Crisis

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The Myths That Fuel the Catalan Crisis
Lisa Abend

In the hours after their parliament declared independence, thousands of Catalans streamed into the Plaça Sant Jaume, a medieval square in Barcelona that serves as the seat of Catalonia’s regional government. They waved the Catalan flag, sang the Catalan anthem, and shouted “Long live the Republic!” But at the decidedly un-Mediterranean hour of 11 p.m., the party ended, and its participants went back to their normal Friday night activities. One observer commented on the ambivalence with a reference to the local football team. “It’s like Barça tied in a home match,” he said of the celebration that, while jubilant, was noticeably subdued for this part of the world.

On October 27, the clash between Spain and Catalonia—one that, depending on whom you ask, has been building for months, years, or centuries—reached a head, with the Catalan parliament casting a secret vote in favor of independence and the Spanish government subsequently activating Article 155, the constitutional provision that allows it to impose direct rule. There is no shortage of reasons for why a little over 40 percent of Catalans—but nearly 52 percent of their members of parliament—supported independence. The Catalans’ distinct language and culture, the oppression they suffered under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, a tax structure perceived as unfair (especially during the economic crisis), and Madrid’s unwillingness to renegotiate their autonomy agreement, all contributed to the crisis. Spain’s opposition to Catalan secession has numerous roots as well, beginning most fundamentally with its constitution, which expressly prohibits a region from breaking away unilaterally.

Read more at: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/10/catalan-spain-referendum-independence-puigdemont/544307/