The Catalan Crisis

 by Dulcie Langley

Independence rally in Barcelona, October 2019

After the Civil War, the epicentre of Spain’s issues with regional nationalism seemed to be in the Basque Country. However, Catalonia’s struggle for independence is fast becoming the biggest problem that the Madrid government faces. The question of Catalonia’s status reentered global headlines in October 2017, when its parliament conducted an illegal independence referendum. More recently in October 2019, thousands of protesters took to the streets after the Supreme Court jailed nine Catalan separatist leaders. But what are the historical roots of the current crisis? And why do the Catalans want independence now?

In the 12th century, references to Catalonia as a region and the Catalan language first began to appear in writing. During the medieval period, Catalan established itself as a major sea power and a crucial component of the Crown of Aragon (a confederation of kingdoms which controlled eastern Spain, many parts of the Mediterranean and Southern Italy). Later in 1469, the marriage of the ‘Catholic Monarchs’ Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile signified the de facto unification of Spain. While Catalonia could hold onto its own institutions at first, it eventually became more fully integrated into the Spanish state, having joined the Kingdom of Castile as part of Aragon in 1474. This prompted a surge in activity from an increasingly passionate Catalan separatist movement.

The movement became more defined in the 19th century, during which the disparity between the Catalan economy and the rest of Spain’s economy was made clear. Catalonia’s advanced industrialisation and key role in the textiles trade meant that it represented 22% of Spain’s total industry, while Madrid contributed just 3%. During Europe’s Age of Nationalism in the late 19th century, the cultural and political project that we would now refer to as ‘Catalanism’ emerged. Enric Prat de la Riba, the leading theorist of political Catalanism at the time, expressed that Catalans were Spaniards who ‘wish to construct a different Spain’.

When Spain became a republic in 1931, Catalonia was granted semi-autonomous status. However, it went on to support the losing side in the Civil War of 1936-1939, and was thus stripped of its autonomy once again when the fascist general Francisco Franco came to power. Franco seized control of Barcelona in 1939 and ensured that Catalonia’s political leaders were executed, including former president Lluís Companys. The Catalan language and customs would be restricted and repressed for decades under Franco’s rule.  It was not until 1979, four years after his death, that the regional government was restored.

Now an autonomous region with its own parliament, government, flag and anthem, Catalonia soon became the wealthiest region in Spain. It is this position as an economic powerhouse that largely fuels the independence movement of the present-day. 

The main argument used by Catalan separatists is that their prosperous region, which consists of just 16% of Spain’s population and yet constitutes 20% of the country’s GDP, would perform better economically as an independent nation. This viewpoint has risen in popularity ever since Spain entered recession in 2008, although many economists dispute its validity. A particular point of contention in the independence debate is the high taxes that Catalans pay in return for less money from Madrid. Half of the income tax and value-added tax generated in Catalonia, in addition to a percentage of some other taxes, goes to Spain’s government. According to Reuters, the region offers $12 billion more to the government than it receives. As such, one of the most popular slogans employed by the separatist groups is ‘España nos roba’, meaning ‘Spain robs us’.

The 2008 financial crash and Spanish public spending cuts significantly exacerbated Catalan resentment, boosting the independence movement. Eventually, following a symbolic referendum in November 2014 which Spain outlawed, separatists won the 2015 regional election. A full referendum then took place in October 2017, but this was also deemed illegal by the Spanish constitutional court. Organisers of this referendum reported that 90% of voters were in favour of splitting from Spain. However, the turnout was only 43%, as many unionists had decided to boycott. The ruling separatists in the Catalan parliament declared independence regardless, inducing the Madrid government to temporarily impose direct rule and use the Article 155 emergency powers. 

After the failed attempt to secede, nine Catalan separatists were found guilty of sedition and imprisoned. This included former vice president Oriol Junqueras, who received a sentence of 13 years. Highly controversially however, the Spanish government has confirmed in the last few days that it will grant these leaders a formal pardon. In a televised address, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the decision aimed to ‘open a new era of dialogue and reconciliation, and end once and for all the division and confrontation’. Despite these intentions, the act of clemency has been met with outrage. A recent poll for El Mundo revealed that 61% of those surveyed disagreed with the measure, with ten of thousands protesting against it in Madrid earlier this month. 

Catalan independence is the biggest political crisis Spain has confronted since democracy was reinstated in 1975. And now, the issue seems to be harming Spain’s reputation as a democratic nation on the global stage. The Economic Intelligence Unit, which produces an influential annual democracy ranking, warned in 2017 that Spain was in danger of being downgraded from a ‘full democracy’ to a ‘flawed’ one.

Fiery debates continue over whether an independent Catalonia would be economically or politically viable, though it remains unclear whether or not it is something that even half the population wants.