The independence movement in Spain

In its long history as a unified country, Spain is currently immersed in one of the strongest independent movements, that does not only affect the social life but has generated an unstable political sphere. In the moment this paper was written, the current government of Spain is “in functions” and has little to no power in taking decisions, what consequently generates a big loss to the Spanish economy. Spain’s political sphere is divided between 4 major political parties, Popular Party (PP) and Ciudadanos (translated as “Citizens”) on the right wing and
Socialists (PSOE) and Podemos (translated as “We Can”) on the left wing. As of early 2016,
PSOE and Ciudadanos have signed a coalition but the other two major political forces, PP and Podemos, have refused to join the accord, what leaves the coalition in a situation where they still do not have the majority of seats necessary to govern1 . In this essay, I will illustrate how the Catalonia's independence movement has created a political and economic instability. In order to understand the current political crisis, it's necessary to examine the recent history of the country. In 1975, after the death of dictator Franco, Spain found itself in a desperate rush to become a free and democratic state, as not only the Spaniards were eager to move on but the international community was pressuring the country to make a fast and peaceful transition to democracy. In addition to the international community, there was an extra pressure from the European Union as Spain was attempting for the third time to be a member, position it accomplished in 1986. As a result, the country experienced a prosperity that it had not experienced since the 1940’s. This economical prosperity beneficiated especially the


“Ciudadanos and PSOE sign deal hoping to win cross­party support”, elpais.com, last modified February 24, 2016,

http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/02/24/inenglish/1456324792_423826.html
1

1

community of Catalonia, and its most famous city, Barcelona, which became one of Europe's high­profile tourists destinations. The recent history of the country definitely set Catalonia to be an economic power in the region and made it one of the favourite places to live in. The Catalonian community experimented a huge economic growth between the 1970’s and late 2000’s but, was also consequently one of the most affected by the crisis that started in
2008, that left more than 20% of Catalonians without a job. This economical instability was used by the Catalan nationalists to, in November 2014, start a proposal for a referendum on independence that would conclude, according to the leaders, with the separation from Spain and a declaration of sovereignty of the new state of Catalonia. This proposal for a referendum would be declared illegal from the start by most of the high political spheres at that time stating that the Spanish constitution remarks in article 2, that all referendums of separation would be illegal as Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish
“The
Nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards”2. after many years of
So
economic and political growth, the country was being divided by a crisis that was used by some to start an internal revolution. With all the opposition the imminent referendum generated the leaders of the movement changed the name from referendum to query, and on November 9, 2014, 2.3 million people voted out of the 5.4 million residents with a result of 80% of these voters supporting the separation from Spain3 . As a result of this query the leader of the movement, Mr Artur Mas, faced criminal charges and was summoned before Spanish judges t answer charges of civil o 2

“The Spanish Constitution”, congreso.es, http://www.congreso.es/consti/constitucion/indice/titulos/articulos.jsp?ini=1&fin=9&tipo=2
3
“More than 2.3 million of catalonians voted, 80% for a yes and Rajoy does nothing”,
20minutos.es,
(TRANSLATED),http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2291518/0/9n­consulta­cataluna/resultados­votacion/participacion­datos/

2

disobedience4 what generated protests on both sides, as nationalists stood by their leader and demanded the charges to be dropped, in opposition to the rest of Spaniards who protested about the little measures the government had taken about the matter. The most astonishing matter was the result as a majority voted yes, what leads to the conclusion that there could be a majority in favor of independence. On the 20th of December, 2015, Spain went to the polls and the result left the country in a political crisis. The two most old and powerful political parties, Partido Popular and PSOE, had the worst results in the history of democracy and lost a significant amount of seat which were divided between the emergent political parties Podemos and Ciudadanos5. This result comes after a year that has consisted of trying to control the movement in Catalonia which is gaining force and the leaders keep to pressure. It also has signified the end of the duopoly that had existed in Spain since the first democratic elections in 1977. The outcome made the elections of December one of the most spoken topics in the following month's positioning them as one of the most important elections yet consequence of the political deadlock. It’s also an important time in Spanish politics as the dominance of one of the parties is going to determine the future of the Catalonian community, as inside the political sphere there are discrepancies as the political parties argue if the independence referendum should be celebrated or not, with PP, PSOE and Ciudadanos positioning themselves against it in contrast with Podemos who will allow it to be celebrated. Many scholars have stated that the change in the political sphere and the unhappiness of the Spanish people with the government

4

“
Thousands gather to support Catalan regional president as he is summoned before Spanish judges to answer charges of civil disobedience over referendum vote”, dailymail.co.uk, last modified October 15, 2015,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article­3274404/Thousands­gather­support­Catalan­regional­president­summoned­Spanish­jud ges­answer­charges­civil­disobedience­referendum­vote.html 5 “Political chaos in Spain”, globalresearch.ca, last modified January 11, 2016,

http://www.globalresearch.ca/political­chaos­in­spain/5500633

3

comes from the fact of recognition that the government can’t stop a power that the independent leaders are gaining. Even though the majority of the political parties have ruled against it there is a possibility that Podemos will ascend or the other political parties give in.

In his traditional Christmas Eve speech, the King Felipe appealed for the unity and the dialogue five days later of the results of the elections. He remembered something that seems to be forgotten by many politicians. He said “Now, what should matter to all, first and foremost, is Spain and the general interest of the Spanish people"6 But as today, a
.
government has still not been formed and the dialogues have only escalated in aggressivity, and again politicians and high profile people are forgetting that Spain needs a government and that the independence movements are just making the country weak. Recently the actual
Spanish president, Mariano Rajoy, said that more sure than not, there would be another election because the political parties cannot compromise and find common ground. This outcome of the situation has just illustrated the lack of communication between the political parties within themselves and the King of Spain whose desires of unity has still to be accomplished. It does not matter how much effort the Catalonian government puts in the independence movement as since the beginning it has been ruled as illegal and unconstitutional by the supreme court.7 But not only the supreme court and the political parties have opposed, many economists have been vocal about how wrong and harmful it can be not only to the
Catalonian economy, as it owns to the Spanish government an estimated amount of 68000


“Spanish elections: King Felipe calls for national unity”,
BBC.com, last modified December 25, 2015,

http://www.bbc.com/news/world­europe­35178295
7

The PSOE states that the Catalonia’s search for independence is not legal” (translated), elperiodico.com, last modified August

9, 2015, http://www.elperiodico.com/es/noticias/politica/psoe­oscar­lopez­independencia­catalunya­ilegal­votos­4420029
6

4

million euros but to the Spanish economy in general as it's estimated that the community is one of the most important pillars of the Spanish GDP contributing with at least 20% of it8.
The Catalonian government seems to forget that all intent of separation is illicit and the government will not allow any progress as it's trying to save the country’s unity and economy. The political parties have stated that they are open to dialogue and to come to some measures to control the situation but have also said the independence is out of the question and that they will protect the Spanish unity by all means as written in article 2 of the constitution. The president, Mariano Rajoy, declared back in November that he would like to dialogue first but that he would act according to the constitution if this case of the illegal search of independence does not stop immediately and remember once again to the Catalonian leaders the state will not negotiate with people that do not follow the constitution. At the moment, negotiations have still not occurred what leaves the matter unsolved and the country still more immersed in the political deadlock.

As a consequence of this political crisis, the day after the general election the Spanish stock market tumbled as investors were, and still are not secure if they should invest in the country as the current instability in the political sphere could affect directly to the future economy of the country9 . Many investors have concerns about the new political parties, Podemos and
Ciudadanos, who between them took 109 seats in the 350­member parliament, as they think it will lead to weeks of political wrangling, and they were right. Also, the Spanish stock market

“The 60% of the Catalonian debt in hands of the state”, expansion.com,
translated),

(
http://www.expansion.com/economia/politica/elecciones­catalanas/2015/09/11/55f34111e2704e7e618b45b4.html
9

“Spain’s stock market tumbles on political instability”, telegraph.co.uk, last modified December 21, 2015,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/12061577/Spanish­stock­market­tumbles­on­political­instability.html
8

5

was a sharp contrast with the other European countries and has the lowest rates in years what made many economists declare that this result can be directly linked to the results of the elections and the subsequent independence movement in Catalonia. Since then the stock market has had ups and downs but it seems the concern for the political spheres is still present in the mind of the main investors although the efforts of the government to create a sense of stability. The political deadlock affected the stock market right away creating indecision of the investors as the economic measures are still to be decided. One of the most important questions that are surfing not only in Spain but in Europe is what is the Catalonian independence mean for Spain and Europe as a whole. In Spain apart from the effects in the economic and political sphere, there is another independent movement in the Basque Country, that is older and stronger than the Catalonian. The political parties have suffered for many years from the attacks of ETA (
“Euskadi Ta Askatasuna” translated as
“Basque Country and Liberty” ), a terrorist organization that promoted the independence of the Basque Country. This terrorist organization, which was dismantled in 2010, is constantly in the mind of many spaniards who believe the independence of Catalonia would result in the comeback of the group even stronger than before. Also, the independent movement could be caught by other communities as Galicians that also have a movement, and if Catalonia succeeds it could make other territories like Valencian Community, Balearic Islands and The
Canary Islands, which have dialects and a different identity than the rest of the spaniards, to catch the movement and also seek for separation. This creates a concern in Spanish citizens about the future of the unity of their country.

6

Apart from that, there are many European countries with a independence movement who could follow Catalonians. Some countries like Italy, France, Denmark, and many more, have had a separatist movement for some time now and some have seen the Catalonian movement as a turning point. If they pursued their own movement, many scholars say it could be the actual end of unity in Europe and new borders, and also in an extreme case be the end of the
European Union.10 The European separatists are looking at the result of Catalonia in order to proceed with their independent movement.

In conclusion, the Catalonian independence movement has not only affected the residents of the community but it has extrapolated to the Spanish political and economic sphere creating a nationwide crisis. Little can be done at this point as the political parties fight to re­establish the order and the stumbling economy as the influential people take sides in order to resolve the conflict. Thus is a situation that not only affects Spain but is becoming a concern of all.

10

”What Catalonia’s Vote for Independence Means for Europe”, time.com
, last modified November 7, 2015, http://time.com/4102619/what­catalonias­vote­for­independence­means­for­europe/ 7

Bibliography 1.“Ciudadanos and PSOE sign deal hoping to win cross­party support”, elpais.com , last modified
February 24, 2016, http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/02/24/inenglish/1456324792_423826.html 2. “The Spanish Constitution”, congreso.es, http://www.congreso.es/consti/constitucion/indice/titulos/articulos.jsp?ini=1&fin=9&tipo=2 3. “More than 2.3 million of catalonians voted, 80% for a yes and Rajoy does nothing”
(TRANSLATED),http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2291518/0/9n­consulta­cataluna/resultados­votaci
on/participacion­datos/ 4.
Thousands gather to support Catalan regional president as he is summoned before Spanish judges to answer charges of civil disobedience over referendum vote, dailymail.co.uk, last modified October 15,
2015,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article­3274404/Thousands­gather­support­Catalan­regional­preside nt­summoned­Spanish­judges­answer­charges­civil­disobedience­referendum­vote.html 5. “Political chaos in Spain”, globalresearch.ca last modified January 11, 2016,
,
http://www.globalresearch.ca/political­chaos­in­spain/5500633 6. “Spanish elections: King Felipe calls for national unity”,
BBC.com, last modified December 25,

2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world­europe­35178295 7. The PSOE states that the Catalonia’s search for independence is not legal” (translated), elperiodico.com , last modified August 9, 2015, http://www.elperiodico.com/es/noticias/politica/psoe­oscar­lopez­independencia­catalunya­ilegal­voto s­4420029 8. “The 60% of the Catalonian debt in hands of the state”, expansion.com (translated), , http://www.expansion.com/economia/politica/elecciones­catalanas/2015/09/11/55f34111e2704e7e618 b45b4.html 9. “Spain’s stock market tumbles on political instability”, telegraph.co.uk
, last modified December
21, 2015, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/12061577/Spanish­stock­market­tumbles­on­political­instability.h tml 10. ”What Catalonia’s Vote for Independence Means for Europe”, time.com
, last modified November
7, 2015, http://time.com/4102619/what­catalonias­vote­for­independence­means­for­europe/

8