Metropole - October 2017

F

or all that the European Union

has done to soften national

borders and foster something

of a European polity, Europe

remains a continent of

nations and regions where language and

culture are central to identity. Nowhere is

this more evident than in Spain, where

Madrid and Barcelona are at loggerheads

once more over the controversial issue of

Catalan independence.

“For 40 years, Catalan nationalism has

been working for secession,” journalist

Arcadi Espada told Metropole, but the

2008 financial crisis, during which

Catalonia was hit hard, gave the question

of independence new life. It reanimated

old cultural and linguistic grievances related

to the recentralization of powers from the

regions to Madrid, a process that began in

the late 1990s and accelerated after 2008.

According to Andrew Dowling, senior

lecturer in Hispanic Studies at Cardiff

University, the economic crisis “suddenly

made these issues incredibly important.”

Now the government of Catalonia plans

to hold a referendum on the issue on

October 1, one seemingly designed both to

irritate and test the wills of both the

Spanish government and the EU. There is a

lot to be irritated about: On September 6,

the legislation authorizing the plebiscite

passed the regional Catalan parliament by

72 votes. The Spanish government called it

a “constitutional and democratic atrocity.”

On September 20, Spanish police ar-

rested 14 Catalan politicians and govern-

ment officials. Spanish authorities also

confiscated nine million ballots. Howev-

er, the regional government is defiant,

“The will of the Catalan people cannot be

stopped,” said Gabriel Rufian of the

pro-independence party ERC (Republi-

can Left Party of Catalonia).

This will be the first vote of its kind in

Europe since the referendum on Scottish

independence in September 2014 (defeat-

ed by a ten-point margin).

SCOTTISH LESSONS

As is common with many nationalist move-

ments, Scottish and Catalan separatism

share a sense of unfulfilled potential – the

idea that only with full political and

economic control can the true power of

these regions be unleashed. Catalonia, of

INTERNATIONAL

Catalonia

Dreaming

The October independence referendum is rattling

Spain and inspiring secessionist movements across

Europe. For better and worse, it’s all about the EU

BY LIAM HOARE

Catalonia celebrates its
National Day every year
on September 11.
Since 2010, it has
become more political,
bringing millions of
people to the streets.
It commemorates the
fall of Barcelona during
the War of the Spanish
Succession in 1714,
which ended Catalan
independence.