Catalonia Crisis Not Just Nationalism

Article 155, which allows the central government to do so, is rather unclear. We still do not know whether its implementation implies the dissolution of the Catalan government, taking control of public security, or calling for regional elections. But the imprisonment of the two leaders of pro-Catalanian independence earlier shows that we are going towards serious problems, reports “Al Jazeera”, Periscopi broadcasts.

What is important to understand at the moment involves more than just a blind nationalism in the Catalan impasse, regardless of what Madrid and Brussels would like to believe.

The Catalan call for independence should not be discredited; it is the legitimate request of millions of Catalans. But we have to ask ourselves why most articles about this crisis focus exclusively on the historical roots of Catalan citizenship, the democratic right of free citizens to vote and the inclusive character of Catalonian nationalism, which is open to foreigners.

These historical and democratic arguments are important to stress, as Owen Jones rightly said, that “Catalon cannot be understood in a single way, here is another manifestation of the crisis that covers the Western world”. This is a crisis of government in which citizens do not trust their governments who have turned their backs on people. Why?

The new geopolitical balances that emerged after 11 September and the financial collapse of 2008 have ended Francis Fukuyama's happy dream of a liberal global democracy where everything is possible.

Instead, this dream proved to be a nightmare, considering the sacrifices liberal democracies impose on the world. Unfortunately, neither Europe nor the United States has presented policies to resist the reality that this crisis has imposed. There are no signs of improvement as well: new countries created are almost uncertain, and most policy reforms are designed to cut social benefits.

International financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund continue to seek a reduction in worker negotiating power, cuts in health care, social insurance and state employment. No wonder unemployment (at 18.6 percent) in Spain is almost double the eurozone average!

These liberal reforms “to overcome the” crisis have triggered very different political reactions across Europe, from the new future of progress to Syriza in Greece, to the right-wing xenophobe populism in Britain and an increase in the number of nationalism citizens in Scotland and Catalonia.

Catalonia's case is interesting not only because it is Spain's richest region (with 7.5 million people, it attracts more than a third of Spain's foreign investment, generates a third of its exports and is responsible for 20 per cent gross product), but also because it is already autonomously governed and is determined to join the EU.

While most countries blamed the EU for the social and economic inequalities and the government's austerity measures, for the Catalan politicians, these were mainly Madrid's fault. Arthur Mass, a former president of and Catalonian General, explained that the Spanish government forced him to implement the savings cuts that are “impossible to crash without seriously impacting some fundamental elements of the welfare state”.

Other former Catalan government presidents were cautious when blaming Madrid for unjust taxes or other dictatorships from above, but Mass (a neoliberal) saw an opportunity to promise change, prosperity and freedom in a new Catalan state independent of Spain and its old constitution. This explains why the nationalist coalition Junts pel Si (Unit for yes) he created with other politicians consists of left and right forces.

Current President Catalan Carles Puigdemont refused to extenuate if he declared independence after the October 1st referendum. Its goal is to force the government of Madrid to start a fruitful dialogue to reach an agreement on the region's independence.

But Madrid, as Pepe Escobar said, “actually agrees with only two priorities: necessarily obeys the EU austerity dictatorships and press at any cost any regional push for autonomy”. That is probably why the Rajoy government made it easier for firms to move, adopting a law that allows companies to shift their legal address more quickly; more than 700 (including banks, multicorporates and publishers) have decided to move from Catalonia to other areas controlled by Spain.

The fact that the EU unconditionally supports the Spanish prime minister's policies towards the impasse of Catalonia is an indication that he cannot afford another Brex.

While President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “If we allow Catalonia where it is not our business to divide, others will do the same”. Although First Deputy Chairman Frans Timmmermans condemned Spanish police brutality during the referendum, he also said that “is the task of any government to uphold the law, and that sometimes requires proportional use of force”.

Those of us who were in Barcelona on that day could testify that there was nothing <x0...proportional” in police violence, except that its size made the call for Rajoy's resignation necessary. As we can see, this crisis was caused by more than just one nationalism; it's also a matter of governance in “the angerpot”. /Periscopi/

It says: Santiago Zabala

Subtitles by Leapin Periscope