27th October, 2017
Photo: BBC/AFP
The Spanish government moved to impose direct rule over Catalonia on Friday, stripping the region of its autonomy less than an hour after its parliament declared independence in a stunning show of defiance.
Although the Catalan declaration appears to be a doomed gesture, both sides’ moves take Spain’s worst political crisis in four decades to a new and possibly dangerous level.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called for calm and said the rule of law would be restored in Catalonia, where secessionists have long cherished the dream of a separate nation.
A crowd of more than 2,000 independence supporters gathered in the Ciutadella Park outside the regional parliament in Barcelona, shouting “Liberty” in Catalan and singing traditional songs as the independence vote went through.
According to France 24, the motion passed in the regional parliament after a passionate debate from advocates and opponents of independence said Catalonia constituted an independent, sovereign and social democratic state.
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont left the chamber to shouts of “President!” and mayors who had come from outlying areas brandished their ceremonial batons and sang the Catalan anthem “Els Segadors” (The Reapers).
Within an hour, the upper house of Spain’s parliament in Madrid authorised Rajoy’s government to rule Catalonia directly — an unprecedented move in Spain since the return of democracy in the late 1970s.
Support abroad for Madrid
In Brussels, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said the independence vote changed nothing and the EU would only deal with the central government in Madrid.
In Washington, the US State Department said it backed Madrid’s efforts to keep Spain united and Catalonia was an integral part of the country.
During an overseas trip to French Guiana, France’s president declared Rajoy had his “full support”.
“I have always said it: I have a single interlocutor in Spain, that is Prime Minister Rajoy, and I have no comment to make on matters that are internal matters,” Emmanuel Macron said. “There is a rule of law in Spain with constitutional rules; [Rajoy] wants to ensure they are respected and he has my full support,” he added.
Berlin also expressed its backing of Madrid after Catalonia’s latest move. “The German government does not recognize such a declaration of independence,” said Germany’s government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, adding that Berlin supported Rajoy’s “clear position” in the Spanish prime minister’s bid to restore calm and order.
“We hope that all involved will use the remaining possibilities for dialogue and de-escalation,” Seibert added.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who was accompanying Macron, also said it was important to avoid any “fractures” in the EU bloc.
“I do not want a situation where, tomorrow, the European Union is made up of 95 different states. We need to avoid splits, because we already have enough splits and fractures and we do not need any more,” said Juncker.
Firing the government?
Rajoy will convene his cabinet at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) to adopt the first measures to govern Catalonia. This could include firing the Barcelona government and assuming direct supervision of Catalan police forces.
“Exceptional measures should only be adopted when no other remedy is possible,” Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said earlier on Friday morning in an address to the Senate.
“In my opinion there is no alternative. The only thing that can be done and should be done is to accept and comply with the law,” said Rajoy, who has staked out an uncompromising position.
How direct rule would work on the ground – including the reaction of civil servants and the police – is uncertain. Some independence supporters have promised to mount a campaign of civil disobedience.
The main secessionist group, the Catalan National Assembly, called on civil servants not to follow orders from the Spanish government and urged them to follow “peaceful resistance”.
“Tensions are likely to rise significantly over the coming days,” Antonio Barroso of Teneo Intelligence said in a note.
“Demonstrators might try to prevent the police from removing Catalan ministers from their offices if the central government decides to do so. This increases the risk of violent clashes with the police.”
The crisis unfolded after Catalonia held an independence referendum on October 1st which was declared illegal by Madrid. Although it endorsed independence, it drew only a 43 percent turnout as Catalans who oppose independence largely boycotted it.
The crisis has split Catalonia and caused deep resentment around Spain. National flags now hang from many balconies in Barcelona in an expression of unity.
Catalonia is one of Spain’s most prosperous regions and already has a high degree of autonomy. But it has a litany of historic grievances, exacerbated during the 1939-1975 Franco dictatorship, when its culture and politics were suppressed.
The chaos has also prompted a flight of business from the region and alarmed European leaders who fear the crisis could fan separatist sentiment around the continent.
Not easy
“It is not going to be easy, it is not going to be free, it is not going to change in a day. But there is no alternative to a process towards the Catalan Republic,” lawmaker Marta Rovira of the Junts pel Si pro-independence alliance said in a debate leading to the vote.
After the debate, lawmakers from members of three main national parties the People’s Party, the Socialists and Ciudadanos walked out. Members of the pro-independence parties and the far-left Podemos then voted in 70-10 in favour in a secret ballot aimed at hindering any attempt by Madrid to lay criminal charges on them.
The independence declaration called on other countries and institutions to recognise Catalonia, although many, including the European Union, have already made it clear they would not do so.
Montserrat Rectoret, a 61-year-old historian, was among the crowds in Barcelona.
“I am emotional because Catalonia has struggled for 40 years to be independent and finally I can see it,” she said.