Catalunya has protagonized two mayor events in the last months. First, it was hit by a terrorist attack in one of it's most popular streets; “Las Ramblas” where 13 where killed and a couple of dozens more where severely injured by a van that driven over the pedestrian area smashing tourists and locals indiscriminately as it passed by.
Before this event most people worldwide had an image of the Barcelona of the olympic games, the home of the football club Barca, of Shakira, the renowned architect Gaudi and the architectonic treasures that he left behind like the famous unfinished catedral "La Sagrada familia", "La pedrera" and many more points of reference four tourists.
This major event has written a page stained with blood and terror in the book of the history of Barcelona and Catalonia.
But there was more going on behind the scenes. The citizens of Barcelona started to get fed up having to host so many tourists all through the year, fed up having to struggle in order to find a place to live, for most flats where being let to foreigners who could afford to pay a high price for a short period of time. Not only that made them feel uncomfortable in their home city but also the behavior of some tourists who sometimes didn't know how to behave in public and where oftentimes seen drunk and naked on the street.
But all that was the tip of the iceberg, what most people didn't know is that there was an underlying problem growing bigger in the Catalonian society, namely a socio-political conflict with the central government that started and continue to be an identity problem.
It is not hard to see how Catalans being Spanish sharing the same territory and passport differ in certain aspects, for instance , their language and their surnames. Whomever with a little understanding of the Spanish language could easily tell one hispanic surname from a non hispanic one. We see that most surnames in Spanish speaking countries such as Mexico, Venezuela or Colombia are plainly hispanic, we hear, Sanchez, Martinez, Lopez, Gonzales en we can directly relate it with an hispanic identity whether the bearers of those surnames like it or not, whether they agree on what happened during the conquest of America of not, the native Indian identity that is passed generation to generation by the surnames and language is utterly destroyed.
The situation in Catalunya is totally different, we still see traces of a society that being attached to Spanish mainland has not completely being assimilated. Their native language is still being spoken and we still can see a huge percentage of the population bearing native Catalan surnames
But is not so simple because we are talking merely about percentages of the population not of it's totality. Nevertheless this fact makes that the Catalan society is now divided among two main groups. The independentists and the non-independentists. This sad line of division goes across all layers of the society, it goes accross the parlament, the schools, the people on the street and even the families. Probably the most complicated part is when this line goes across the households where the parents who came from other regions of spain long ago for work and settled in Catalonia now are faced agains theirs own sons and grandchildren who are independentists.
But it should't be that difficult to solve this issue if it is about percentages, afterall is not that what a democracy is all about?, about polling, voting and finding out?.
I guess that is what the the politicians also concluded so they decided to hold a so called referendum to let the people decide by themselves whether they want to remain being part of Spain or not.
This major event has written a page stained with blood and terror in the book of the history of Barcelona and Catalonia.
But there was more going on behind the scenes. The citizens of Barcelona started to get fed up having to host so many tourists all through the year, fed up having to struggle in order to find a place to live, for most flats where being let to foreigners who could afford to pay a high price for a short period of time. Not only that made them feel uncomfortable in their home city but also the behavior of some tourists who sometimes didn't know how to behave in public and where oftentimes seen drunk and naked on the street.
But all that was the tip of the iceberg, what most people didn't know is that there was an underlying problem growing bigger in the Catalonian society, namely a socio-political conflict with the central government that started and continue to be an identity problem.
It is not hard to see how Catalans being Spanish sharing the same territory and passport differ in certain aspects, for instance , their language and their surnames. Whomever with a little understanding of the Spanish language could easily tell one hispanic surname from a non hispanic one. We see that most surnames in Spanish speaking countries such as Mexico, Venezuela or Colombia are plainly hispanic, we hear, Sanchez, Martinez, Lopez, Gonzales en we can directly relate it with an hispanic identity whether the bearers of those surnames like it or not, whether they agree on what happened during the conquest of America of not, the native Indian identity that is passed generation to generation by the surnames and language is utterly destroyed.
The situation in Catalunya is totally different, we still see traces of a society that being attached to Spanish mainland has not completely being assimilated. Their native language is still being spoken and we still can see a huge percentage of the population bearing native Catalan surnames
But is not so simple because we are talking merely about percentages of the population not of it's totality. Nevertheless this fact makes that the Catalan society is now divided among two main groups. The independentists and the non-independentists. This sad line of division goes across all layers of the society, it goes accross the parlament, the schools, the people on the street and even the families. Probably the most complicated part is when this line goes across the households where the parents who came from other regions of spain long ago for work and settled in Catalonia now are faced agains theirs own sons and grandchildren who are independentists.
But it should't be that difficult to solve this issue if it is about percentages, afterall is not that what a democracy is all about?, about polling, voting and finding out?.
I guess that is what the the politicians also concluded so they decided to hold a so called referendum to let the people decide by themselves whether they want to remain being part of Spain or not.
The referendum 1-0
So the local government decided to hold that referendum of auto-determination and stated in their local law that if the majority of the voters where inclined for a yes, meaning yes to the independency, the local government would declare the independency 2 days later.
The central government declared that referendum ilegal right from the start but the local government continue despite the threats and actions from the central government to stop it from happening. Both government played catch me if you can games from day one. Material related with the organization of the referendum had to be kept hidden, the national police took siege of places that were suspected of cooperating with related propaganda and even legal trials were filed agains hundreds of majors who where supporting the referendum.
Days before the date of the referendum the central government transferred police forces to Catalonia with the command of sealing the schools and confiscate material, in other words to stop by all means the referendum and force was one of the means. Local police had also clear orders to close the voting stations first time in the morning but local and national police both knew they were being set to accomplish a mission impossible. There was no possible way to be present in all schools at once and in their frustration they used force against the people who offered peaceful resistance. There were beatings, blood and gunshots with rubber balls.
Meanwhile the European union took sides by the Spanish government stating that it was an internal problem and that they should resolve it themselves in their support to Spain they also stated that Catalonia wouldn't be recognized as a sovereign country therefore it would fall outside of the European economic region. Soon after the most significative companies in Catalonia were alarmed and the biggest exodus of companies leaving Catalonia started, although that movement was symbolically and they only changed their headquarters, it was still preoccupying.
Puigdemont's independence set
Now it was Puigdemont's set. As president of “La Generalitat” wich is the name by which the local government goes by, it was his responsability to declare the independence as the law of the referendum stated by instead of doing so he chose to suspend his declaration of independence in an attempt to negociate with the central goverment and come to an agreement.
Mariano's set before checkmate.
Mariano Rajoy, president of the spanish government did consider that gesture of suspending the independency declaration as an hostility and asked for confirmation before activating the article 155, his secret weapon, an article that enables the central goverment to stop the autonomity of any autonomous comunity if they in any manner violate of refuse to comply with the spanish constitution.
Mariano finally pulls the trigger.
Mariano Rajoy did ask before pulling the trigger of his 155 constitutional weapon but he and his supporters would only restrain themselvels from pulling the trigger only if Carles Puigdemont would repent and make his referendum void which Mr Puigdemont did not do.
The central government declared that referendum ilegal right from the start but the local government continue despite the threats and actions from the central government to stop it from happening. Both government played catch me if you can games from day one. Material related with the organization of the referendum had to be kept hidden, the national police took siege of places that were suspected of cooperating with related propaganda and even legal trials were filed agains hundreds of majors who where supporting the referendum.
Days before the date of the referendum the central government transferred police forces to Catalonia with the command of sealing the schools and confiscate material, in other words to stop by all means the referendum and force was one of the means. Local police had also clear orders to close the voting stations first time in the morning but local and national police both knew they were being set to accomplish a mission impossible. There was no possible way to be present in all schools at once and in their frustration they used force against the people who offered peaceful resistance. There were beatings, blood and gunshots with rubber balls.
Meanwhile the European union took sides by the Spanish government stating that it was an internal problem and that they should resolve it themselves in their support to Spain they also stated that Catalonia wouldn't be recognized as a sovereign country therefore it would fall outside of the European economic region. Soon after the most significative companies in Catalonia were alarmed and the biggest exodus of companies leaving Catalonia started, although that movement was symbolically and they only changed their headquarters, it was still preoccupying.
Puigdemont's independence set
Now it was Puigdemont's set. As president of “La Generalitat” wich is the name by which the local government goes by, it was his responsability to declare the independence as the law of the referendum stated by instead of doing so he chose to suspend his declaration of independence in an attempt to negociate with the central goverment and come to an agreement.
Mariano's set before checkmate.
Mariano Rajoy, president of the spanish government did consider that gesture of suspending the independency declaration as an hostility and asked for confirmation before activating the article 155, his secret weapon, an article that enables the central goverment to stop the autonomity of any autonomous comunity if they in any manner violate of refuse to comply with the spanish constitution.
Mariano finally pulls the trigger.
Mariano Rajoy did ask before pulling the trigger of his 155 constitutional weapon but he and his supporters would only restrain themselvels from pulling the trigger only if Carles Puigdemont would repent and make his referendum void which Mr Puigdemont did not do.
Will Mr Puigdemont even though before the article 155 is fully approved and activated?
Will the president of “ La generalitat” and the president of the government of spain sit down to talk? Nobody knows only time will tell.
Will the president of “ La generalitat” and the president of the government of spain sit down to talk? Nobody knows only time will tell.
Reacties
Een reactie posten