09/20/2017 Interview with Carlos Prieto, editor of the Spanish edition of the journal New Left Review 'and social activist R. La Torre La Marea Militant European social movements and editor of the Spanish edition of the journal New Left Review , among many other things, Carlos Prieto del Campo unapologetic addresses the issue of Catalan referendum. " To hold a consultation of this type is much broader than a mere draft political discussion between warring elites together to control their respective state apparatuses , " he argues. Do you support the proposed referendum in Catalonia on 1-O?
If there were a referendum should be raised completely different to the 1-0, which in my opinion does not withstand a legal nor political nor guarantees minimum technical analysis to be held consistently. If there is no minimum to celebrate something as important as a referendum consensus, consultation 1-0 fall under its own weight like a house of cards. If that happens, the Government calls elections and validates a majority in favor of reconsidering the situation of Catalonia in the Spanish State,the only consistent output would hold a referendum agreed with all the guarantees. And in that case I think the most reasonable option would be that consultation would be binding on both parties, the result, whatever it was, closed the debate for a reasonable time to give social stability, political, economic and even cultural the whole state.
I understand, then, that it is in favor of a referendum agreement and consensus among the various political actors. Is that so?
Yes, as he indicated. It would be desirable that hypothetical query raised not only in terms of sovereignty by turning only about secession or not Catalan, but addressed as a political debate model of state organization in a horizon of constituent power on a large scale the whole state. If the hypothetical referendum no margin left to play with the plasticity of the organization form of the Spanish State, many things in the pipeline would remain and would produce a scenario of difficult poor management regarding the horsepower to thwart Spanish and Catalan of the dominant elites.
The Government argues that, today, a referendum on these characteristics is impossible to carry out because the unity of Spain is indivisible and also does not conform to the Constitution. What do you think?
That the referendum does not comply with the Constitution and that no legal consistency has recognized to the Letrado Mayor of Parlament. But it should be clear that a referendum should not be understood only as a matter of sovereignty. What is actually is politically socioeconomic class units, which by definition is going to be transnational in the sense that today are integrated if Catalonia wants to be within the EU will be subject to a restriction of sovereignty experience like France, Italy, Romania, Spain or Germany,
If we go back to the whole process from Maastricht to today. From an organic conception of nationalism, one can argue that the proces is the crystallization of the plurisecular process that began in 1711. That does not stand the slightest historical analysis even the slightest analysis in terms of class struggle and secular antagonism against Catalan and Spanish, and is currently coping with power relations imposed by the neoliberal management, not the Spanish or Catalan economy, but the whole of the EU, which is the scene of natural political action of anti - systemic movements ruling classes .
Be very careful to put the referendum not as a clash of sovereignties and national essences but as a strategic discussion on how the economy or Catalan or Spanish social training in this entorn is inserted or is already very transnationalized, in good postnational part is already very avant la lettre or multinational and is actually operating with very strong restriction criteria sovereignty, as seen during the crisis. You have to read the process is not as strictly built around the concept of sovereignty, but around the battery of modern political concepts antagonists: in terms of class, production of a new social bloc, a new historical bloc.
Despite the acrimonious postures, do you think there may be some silver lining for understanding?
Would have a significant change occurs in the Spanish and Catalan politics. If the constellation of forces in Catalonia were only PDeCAT-ERC-CUP, there would be little chance that the thing is unblocked, the PP being in the national government. If you really Catalunya in Comú-can introduce other variables and debate that arises only in terms of closed sovereignty, it could create the space for such a referendum be inserted in the draft constitutional power to redefine the nature of the state; a formula which was much simpler to create political alternatives to break with the neoliberal model of management and, therefore, modify the possibilities of transforming the State is Spanish and the calculation of conservative Catalan political elites leading the process current.
Why the unwillingness of l PP of doing nothing?
Lack of mobility and response of some and the lack of political intelligence by others has led to this impasse. The PP does not move because he thinks that under current conditions any breakdown of the Spanish State is an absolute decline of the power of the state, and does not want under any circumstances that arises as a stage. On the other hand, a unilateral secession would have such socio - economic impact that the PP is very cautious, as the PSOE and can and Catalunya in Comú. PP immobility reflects a strategy that they do not know how to manage in original terms because they have a sovereignist and nineteenth - century conception of the state and the PP and the Government are the guarantors of the neoliberal status quo of the EU.
Imobilism agreed that the two sides ...
Exactly, because both elites want to control the respective state apparatus maximum horizon of political action. Both blocks use a strong concept of sovereignty in the moment when the crisis of representation is higher and predation processes most scandalous public system. In addition, both parties have shown an absolute inability to raise a political process really key constituent with a very strong class content, a policy that wants to make tabula rasa with antiques that are nation-states as they are currently conceived, with tremendous pressure that the neoliberal EU governance and financial markets impose. That both blocks and are going through your head, while we can-Catalunya in Comú begins to turn a bit on that line.
The complexity of what it means to break, create, form a new political form is something that has much greater plasticity in terms of class, constitutional process antagonist anti - systemic, revolutionary, a vagatela of clashes between rotten sovereignties for decades, and since the crisis have expressed their absolute misery: from expelling immigrants to withdraw a health card, cause evictions ... Whereupon neither Catalan nor the Spanish government have moved a finger. A Spain without Catalonia imagine? My vindication of Spanish nationalism is zero. Politically it is possible without Catalonia and Spain Catalonia without Spain, although I think that's uninteresting.
What interests me is to analyze the problem from a strict point of view of class: analyze the social, political and cultural balances that can result in production of historical blocks that make it possible to break the current neoliberal governance and the current model of rough segmentation capitalism is imposing globally and regionally. It makes me just a Spain torn a reconverted Spain, but want workforces, subaltern groups, large majorities can give a political leap that benefits them in terms of equality and radical justice and integral democratization of social life.If this is not achieved, really I do not know if it's worth the effort. Perversion of the debate is that the only horizon is the national constitution and sovereignty. Source: http://www.lamarea.com/2017/09/14/99764/
