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.
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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.
ReplyDeleteThe 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.
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.
DeleteOk, 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.
DeleteAnd 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.
ReplyDelete
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.
DeleteNor impossible, remember, citizenship is an inalienable right, and once you are an european citizen, you can't be stripped from it. Also,
Deletehttp://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.
OK, we disagree on what is possible and what is impossible. We agree that being in the European Union is a good thing.
DeleteI 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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