Friday, September 13, 2013

A better idea for Catalonia

Mr. Artur Mas, the right-wing president of Catalonia and leader of a party tainted by corruption scandals, wrote an article in the New York Times on Tuesday supporting Catalan independence. He argued that the issue should be left to Catalans to be decided in a democratic referendum, for which he has not clarified what would the exact question be. It would be good to discuss and decide the issue democratically and within the law, which now is difficult given the strict control and manipulation of public media by Mr. Mas and his supporters, who have at this stage lost control of a nationalist movement that they decided to support with the objective of making the citizens forget about budget cuts and corruption scandals. He argued that at the same time Catalonia wants to be a member of the European Union. However, for an independent Catalonia to be a member state of the European Union it would need the unanimous approval of the current 28 member states. So far, not a single one of them has declared its support (Latvia’s leader has said that it would consider the possibility). And it is hard to see how a single member state would accept the precedent of a relatively rich part of a member state breaking it up. To convince other countries that Catalan independence is a good idea, the supporters of the idea should show evidence that the project improves welfare not only in Catalonia (something that is very questionable given that Spain is Catalonia’s main trading partner) but also elsewhere. They should answer the question: Will Europe be a better place if Spain breaks up? The chauvinist Italian Northern League has expressed its support to Catalan independence. With such supporters, it is hard to see how serious Europeans will ever express their support. A federal Spain in the transition towards a truly integrated Europe, where the member states progressively lose importance, is a much more intelligent way to solve forever the lack of recognition of Catalan identity. The Economist also supports a new understanding between Catalonia and Spain. The Financial Times explicitly argues in favour of an asymmetric federalism. It seems that, although federalists are treated like psychotics in some Catalan circles, federalism has much more and more qualified international support than independence.

8 comments:

  1. Federalism is a joke and you know it. The Spanish Government won't ever allow it. For the last 35 years, we, catalans, have tried to change the nineteenth century conception of Spain and it has led to nothing.

    The support for the only political party that supports federalism, PSC, is plummeting and everyday is getting closer to be the 5th or 6th force in the catalan's parliament. The problem is in the very roots of the spanish constituency. The Spanish Constitution was approved under an all-or-nothing from the military and changing it is not feasible when you need an agreement by PSOE and PP, who only dared to change an outdated constitution when they were forced by the Troika.

    Oh, and please, refrain yourself from using such fallacies in the future, like Lega Norte's supporting the Catalan cause, making the catalans aspiration to become independent look bad by association. Meanwhile, you said nothing about how the House of Commons congratulated Catalonia's National Day and pacific means to reach its goals with 12 votes from 5 different parties.

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    1. When you do not like an idea, I do not think it is constructive to say it is a joke. Constitutions can be changed and many people, including The Economist and The Financial Times, and the Spanish left, think that the Spanish one should be changed. PSC voters are not the only ones in favour of federalism. If you ask people to choose between federalism and an independent Catalonia out of the EU, most people prefer federalism. International supports are important.

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    2. Ok, bad wording on my part, but considering federalism as a way to reconstruct the Spanish State is a joke. There are many interests in Spain against it and it won't change. Spain is a monolithic state where changes have never been appreciated and ultimately, discarded or butchered.

      And if you ask people to choose between federalism, an independent Catalonia inside the EU and an independent Catalonia outside the EU, most of the people would choose an independent state inside the EU, because it's in the EU's best interest to keep Catalonia inside than waiting too long and turn Catalonia in Switzerland 2.0.

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    3. It would not be the first time that Spain, or any state, changes. I am happy that we agree on 2/3. The other third (an independent Catalonia inside the EU) does not seem to be possible.

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    4. Nor impossible, remember, citizenship is an inalienable right, and once you are an european citizen, you can't be stripped from it. Also,

      http://www.elperiodico.com/es/noticias/elecciones-2012/almunia-honesto-decir-forma-taxativa-que-una-catalunya-independiente-quedaria-fuera-2233100

      http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php/scottish-news/6071-exclusive-european-commission-changes-vice-presidents-catalonia-remarks-after-pressure-from-madrid

      As you can see, it's not writen in stone that such thing is impossible and people is still debating over it Right now, I am 28 years old, many people during my early days said that Catalan Independence was an utopia, while this year and the last, the Catalan Independence movement mobilised a 20% of the total population in two consecutive demonstration, a feat nearly unimaginable in today's Europe.

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    5. OK, we disagree on what is possible and what is impossible. We agree that being in the European Union is a good thing.

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    6. I don't even know if it is a good thing, the countries present in the EFTA aren't doing bad at all, Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Liechenstein while most of the countries present in the EU are scrapping by. I don't want to make absolute statements, but there are plenty of options to explore when it comes to international and european matters, and it would be stupid to disregard some options that are equally as valid.

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