Period 10: Catalonia's Independence Vote

Charlee makes a good point for discussion:

"Catalonia stated that they gave so much to the Spanish government but got nothing in return." How can we connect her statement to previous content discussion?

The discussion of Catalonian independence at least for me, creates an interesting ideological debate. Being primarily an individualist and in opposition to globalization and large government I was initially intrigued after hearing about this. Typically being a supporter of independence movements, however, this is one I just can not support. The Catalonians want their sovereignty from the Spanish government but Spain has turned it into a battle. Spain using Article 55 of its own constitution has allowed them to take full control of the region. This is a smart move on Spain’s part considering the government understands the repercussions of allowing Catalon to be independent. The independence referendum on Oct. 1 resulted in over ninety percent of the 2.3 million people voting for independence. Legitimating this independence is dangerous as this small fraction of the population can spark other regions into doing the same. If one exits legally not much can stop others from following suit. Regions like Basque that are also considering leaving will take their opportunity and like that you don’t have a country any more. Catalonia is very autonomous with its own distinct culture and government, with Catalans believe that they are propping up the poorer regions of Spain and that Spain is taking advantage of this. Leaving would dent the Spanish economy but nothing would be able to prevent Spain from taking back Catalonia by force again. It will be interesting to see how this will affect Europe because if Catalonia could rally the support of other regions considering independence it would increase the prospects of another Spanish civil war or could even spark a new nationalistic identity movement within Spain. And with tensions about sovereignty and culturalism in Europe already being high right now, conflict with leaving the EU could arise. As much as I would love to see Catalonian independence, considerations need to be made on how to get themselves legitimacy in Spain, the officials need to back down and allow themselves to gain more control and support within the Spanish government. However, now independence for Catalonia will be even further out of reach, as autonomy will surely be taken away.

Clearly Europe is in fear of being fractured for the billionth time. With the rise of globalism, does this spell the end of a united Europe? Is this the spark that lights the flame?

@weber

Whether or not either is violating being a democracy is a question that both sides would argue. Catalan lawmakers approved the declaration of Independence from the Spanish government and this approval came after the decision was voted upon. However, the Spanish government used Article 55 of its Constitution and the use of Article 55 was decided by the Senate. This makes it seem as if both were not violating any democratic procedures, rather more or less making statements of political superiority.

Recently, the small region of Catalonia which consists of the city of Barcelona, has been granted its independence from Spain. However, due to the immense amounts of intervention being planned by the Prime Minister of Spain, the future of Catalonia’s independence does not look bright. The Washington Post reads, “Spanish courts ruled the outcome illegal. And Friday, the Spanish Senate took the unprecedented and extraordinary step of announcing that Madrid would move to seize control of the region.” The region of Catalonia has taken this step to declare independence for their country, however, this quote explains that the Spanish government does not promote nor agree with this idea. The first thing I contemplated after comprehending the articles I read about this topic was, why did Catalonia want it’s independence in the first place? An article from The Washington Post states, “Catalans often complain that they contribute more in taxes to the Spanish government than they get back. In 2014, Catalonia paid about $11.8 billion more to Spain’s tax authorities than it received.” Catalonia makes up 16 percent of Spain’s population and is responsible for 20 percent of the national economy. This quotation explains that Catalans separated from Spain due to the vast amounts of taxes being paid and the small amount of compensation being received in return. Overall, the people of Catalonia felt they were being robbed of their economical rights. Relating to Unit one of our studies, this situation resembles the colonists breaking away from Great Britain with the Declaration of Independence. After years of economical struggle with taxing, the original 13 colonies broke away from Great Britain. Furthermore, Catalonia’s situation displays true aspects of a social contract in action. A social contract is an agreement between the government and it’s people, stating that if said authority does not do what is best for the common good, or degrades the people’s natural rights, the people have the power to overthrow the government. The people of Catalonia believed that they were being robbed of these rights, and essentially put the terms of this intangible social contract into play.

How long do you think the complete independence that Catalonia has been granted will last, based off of the reaction from the Spanish Government?

For anyone interested a new development in Catalonia just happened.

Catalonia crisis: Spain issues warrant for Puigdemont
www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41865121

When first reading and learning about the independence crisis in Spain, my initial response was why is this a big deal? I remember thinking why can't Spain just deal with the fact that the majority of Catalonia wants to seek independence and leave Spain. Then with further questioning and deeper thought, I began to understand both sides of the story and the complicated natural of the situation. Also, I began connecting it to our own history and unit one. In 2015 Spain was in the wake of an Economic crisis. Catalonia, being at the time one of the wealthiest provinces in Spain, was called upon to help its monarch through those troubling times. This can be seen as closely related to Great Britain taxing the colonies because they were facing a losing economy. This could have been avoided had we (the colonies) had a “fair” vote or any sort of representation. The colonist could have “agreed” to this and continued to live “peacefully” as a part of Great Britain's government. However this event in American history opened the metaphorical floodgates to all the seen and unseen problems we had with Great Britain's ruling of the colonies. This can be directly related to Catalonia’s subsidizing relationship with Spain. Another prime example of the correlation between Catalonia’s seek for independence and the colonies are that we both had formed our own cultures and way of living. Catalonia was originally an independent region of the Iberian Peninsula, so When joining the Spanish provinces they already had different languages, traditions and other cultural factors that distinguished them as already “independent” from Spain. Spain refuses to recognize The Republic of Catalonia which is the new name of Catalonia , As stated in the BBC article “ (Mr Puigdemont) continues to regard himself as the president of the newly proclaimed "Republic of Catalonia". The Republic of Catalonia has decided to end their social contract with spain because they have concluded that Spain is no longer a beneficial attribute to their society or their common good.

If Catalonia wasn't one of the Wealthiest Provinces in Spain, do you think Spain would be so adamant to make them stay? Or is do you think (for spain) this is mostly about losing an important part of its country's economy?