Catalonia: "It could be one of the great democratic revolutions in Southern Europe"

INDEPENDENCE CATALONIA: "IT COULD BE ONE OF THE GREAT DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTIONS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE"

How independence was consolidated basis in Catalonia? What are the concrete steps that are intended to give the Catalans to disconnect from the Spanish state? Quim Arrufat, exparlamentario of CUP, one of the two forces pushing the car of Catalan independence, explains how it is developing this unprecedented political process.

Municipalista, asambleario, socialist, feminist independence . So the project is defined Crida Constituent (CC) - Popular Unity Candidates (CUP) , one of the two coalitions that  drive the Catalan independence process . Somewhere between social movements and institutional representation, CUP entered the Catalan Parliament in 2012. After the elections of 2015, he joined forces with Junts pel Yes (JxS) , which hosts under the same acronym liberals and center-to agree on a road map leading to the Catalans for  independence within 18 months.  that, in the middle of the  repeated refusal of the Spanish state to hold a referendum  to be the Catalan people to decide on the permanence or not within its borders.

To know the  progress and challenges of the legislature  a few weeks ago began in Catalonia,The Citizen spoke with    former deputy in the Catalan Parliament CUP-CC  Quim Arrufat .

The independence based in Catalonia has grown exponentially in recent years. What factors influenced the increase?

The systemic explanation we give from the CUP is that for more than 10 years ago, before the economic, social and political crisis that erupted in the State Spanish, began to take a re-centralization process autonomic functions that resulted in a progressive cut in capacity to govern.This directly affected the distribution of social, public investment and democratic guarantees.

Catalan autonomy [current situation in Spain and different from the claimed independence] became meaningless four or five years ago when he broke the economic and social crisis, debt Troika, the cuts and the political and institutional re-centralization of the State Spanish and it lost its legislative and budgetary capacity. This triggered a reaction independence understood as a political and democratic option to establish a proper policy framework in the form of state and independent Republic, to facilitate the Catalans are the ones to decide their own future in all areas sovereignty. Therefore, the independence movement grew from a political position defended by 15-20% of the population to reach about 50-55%.

"In 18 months we will discuss laws that are not really a regional parliament, but a sovereign parliament"

How important was the role of civil society in this process?

To explain this we must go back a few years ago to recall the massive demonstrations for independence since 2010 have taken to the streets between 1 and 2 million people; public consultations organized since the independence movement, between 2009 and 2011, more than 550 municipalities; and in 2014, the non-binding on the independence agreed by 2/3 of the Parliament and the Spanish State did not recognize. Not only that, but also he chased and threatened to suspend autonomy if carried out. Still, more than 2,300,000 people voted to show the democratic will of a people.

After the systematic refusal of the Spanish Government to hold a referendum, the elections last September as a plebiscitary elections were held. people to be expressed about the 'Yes' or 'No' was requested. In the bed of the 'Yes' were two political formations, JxS and CUP, which together totaled 72 of the 135 deputies. The majority was enough to start building the structures of the new Republic during the new legislature, which has a very specific period: 18 months.

Just in the last parliamentary elections the CUP increased from 3 deputies made in 2012 to the 10 reached last September 2015. How that leap he?

The CUP chose the popular municipalismo to begin political work from the barrios and from municipalities. It grew slowly until the social and political crisis that revolutionized society gave the politically activated and buried the old parties. This accelerated its growth to the point that he decided to take the opportunity to introduce political change for the first time the Catalan Parliament elections in 2012, when he won his first three deputies.

Thanks to the activation of citizenship, there was a growth in popularity of CUP that reproduced in all social movements around the defense of social rights, other economic and, above all, recovery democracy.

The results of the last elections to the Catalan parliament allowed to form a clearly separatist government from the 72 members that joined JxS and CUP. How to fit two formations as ideologically antagonistic to deploy the agreed roadmap?

It's a situation sui generis and this alone explains why the CUP can give support from outside, fully conditional on really in 18 months the Catalan Executive pushing forward the agreements on the legislative preparation of the new Republic.  

To disconnect

What will happen during these 18 months?

What we do during this period is to design laws own Hacienda, Legal System, Social Protection and constitutional process. We will use the 18 months to discuss, within the framework of the regional parliament, laws are not really a regional parliament, but a sovereign parliament.

The debate and the writing can not suspend the State Spanish, would be a coup against the elected representatives of the Catalan people. The we approve all of the last day, 24 hours before convening constituent elections. This will be the first major act of institutional disobedience that Parliament adopt a characteristic of a free republic and not a Spanish region laws.

Later we convene citizens to a Constituent elections to elect representatives of the Constituent Assembly. It shall have one year to draft a new constitution, which will then be submitted to a constitutional referendum.

At this point, the Spanish government will have to decide if imposed and cancels the Catalan institutions and all acts voted in the last full-even though the population has voted and endorsed on several occasions or if he agrees to negotiate and understands that the Catalan process is not a temporary whim but a purposeful project of building a just republic.

And if in the constitutional referendum, which would be the last step in the process, win the 'No'?

It would fail, a big disappointment, but it would be democratic. The democratic game has that, you can lose. If people at a certain point says 'No', it's what people want. This process only holds for people.

It is a complex process for 18 months.

It may seem very strange because it is a way that no one has ever started before and sometimes we find it costs a lot to be understood abroad. There is a covenant normal government or a normal legislature. But the situation in Catalonia live in democratic terms is not normal either. There is a social majority and political commitment to the independence and there is another, even more majority that includes not independence, which is for the right to decide in a referendum on independence, as was done in Scotland or Quebec.

"The abnormality of the situation is that the Spanish government denied by active and passive the possibility of holding the referendum"

The abnormality of the situation is that the Spanish State refuses by active and passive the possibility of holding the referendum. However, not all configurations of State rejected this option. We can and United Left, a coalition around the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) require and have called for a referendum for Catalonia, but are a minority.

The declaration of independence early in the process, who signed both JxS as CUP, was explicit "not depend on the decisions of the Spanish state institutions", in particular the Constitutional Court. How it will take place in practice this disobedience?

It will be essential to public pressure. Behind this there is neither Russia nor the United States, we are not power or have gold or oil. All we have is people. Not to disobey without order and causing confusion or situations of anarchy. Basically democratic forces must be added to proclaim independence with a democratic majority supported by the polls around a constitution.

After that we will have to move the conflict between Catalonia and the Spanish State to the international arena. We have to ask, both in Europe and worldwide, who wants to recognize the process. The route will be the international appeal with a guaranteed results and consulted, to force the Spanish state to recognize the independence and the right to decide.

Since the proclamation of independence, the Catalan institutions will have to start to operate as an independent republic, with its own civil service, own budgets, etc. So while the conflict with the state is in effect, you have to be appealing to some sort of international credit that allows the separation process to negotiate with Spain.

Constitutional process

Catalonia and Chile have in common that the 2016 driving a constituent process. In Chile, to get rid of the 1980 Constitution, drafted in times of dictatorship. In the case of Catalonia, in preparing its first democratic constitution. How do you think the CUP from the constitutional process?

The process has two phases. The first was opened in these 18 months, which is the civil phase, non-institutional, which social, political, trade union, etc. organizations They will have to generate its discussions on the content of the new Constitution.

The second start after the constituent elections, and will be the institutional phase. Parliament elected representatives will have the mission to collect all the talk in society, all documents drawn up, to draft and agree on the text of a new constitution within a year.

"We have to ask, both in Europe and worldwide, who want to recognize the process"

Do they think about a particular model?

In Latin America our references are the processes of political change in countries such as Ecuador, Bolivia or Venezuela, for trying to put the wealth of a country to reach people with their mistakes and successes, and all the cultural difference between US.

In addition we will provide examples of other constituent processes, such as Iceland and Ireland.And now we are also very attentive to the first steps of the Chilean process.

Text will have to be second or third generation, that is, to include not only the basic structures of the state, but also need to consider a charter of social and democratic rights. We must avoid certain topics, such as the minimum wage or minimum labor guarantees are subject to political debate and changes decided by the government of a certain color.

How can affect the formation of the new Spanish government to the process that exists in Catalonia?

In Catalonia majorities expand or reduce depending on what happens in the Spanish State.Independence is a very solid base, but there is also a political majority which varies depending on whether there are more democratic, open and multi-country governments in Spain, or if they are right, recentralizadores, protroika, antiurnas, etc.

Hence the importance of negotiations these days are cooked. If what comes out is a government of the Popular Party and Citizens independence of Catalonia will be unstoppable and support to the Republic grow much because they apply a series of policies against social, labor, culture, democracy, etc.

 International projection

How Head of International Relations of his training, he has had the opportunity to travel around Latin America (Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, Uruguay, etc.) to explain the Catalan process. What is the look of this experience from Latin America?

There is an elaborate rhetoric that gives a very distorted picture of what is happening in Catalonia image. For example, we find the topic of economic lack of solidarity of the richest to the state region. True, the Catalan GDP is higher than in other regions of Spain, but that is because it is an industrial region and an industrial region generates a lot of revenue need to employ so many workers precarized. It is not a question of income, or natural resources, but is the result of work.

Another issue is to deny that the movement that drives the process is conservative, nationalist and even xenophobic. Catalonia has more than nonnative immigrant people, because in the last 50 years had several migratory waves that made it a multicultural and multiethnic mix where it would be impossible for a purely nationalist project succeed. Never would add majorities.

Along with that, it is among the few places in Europe that does not have an extreme right nor an organized racism, against a Europe where there is not only racist or right-wing governments, as in Hungary and Poland, but also in many countries as in France, the Netherlands and Austria, have installed as second or third forces parliament formations extreme right.

How to explain from the CUP the independence process abroad?

We stand at the base of the sovereignist movement there is the will to build a more democratic and social Republic, to broaden the rights to citizenship through a radically democratic and peaceful process. Catalan society is deeply pacifist, anti-militarism educated, because throughout its history it suffered coups, military dictatorships and fascism.

If successful the process in Catalonia may become one of the great democratic revolutions in southern Europe and causing more democratic changes in this part of the continent.

Source: Meritxell Freixas - The Citizen