Period 10: Catalonia's Independence Vote

    In response to the recent Catalonian attempts to declare it’s independence from the Spanish federal government from which it currently belongs, other countries including the US and the EU are backing Spain, most likely to deter similar behavior rousing within their own governments. Such a meaningful declaration certainly has significance in the ideology of it all, however, according to constitutional law professor Carlos Flores Juberías, Catalonia will in no form be able to support its airports, highways, budgets, and so on, with a unicameral legislature. Perhaps other countries have come to this realization as well, and have allied with the Spanish government to reassure them that they are validated in their actions to enforce their never before touched piece of legislature, Article 155. This article grants Spain’s federal government the power to take the “measures necessary” (which have never been defined before)  to repossess an autonomous region that has acted against the “general interests of Spain” or who has not fulfilled their obligations stated in the Spanish Constitution. Several Spanish officials are declaring that what Catalonia is conspiring to do is both “undemocratic” and “unconstitutional”, while the pro independence people proclaim “democracy!” on their streets. According to Webster, the definition of democracy is a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people (especially  rule of the majority) and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. Based on this definition, one can see that the citizens of Catalonia feel that they are not being properly represented, and  as though they are giving more than they are receiving from the Spanish government, because of the somewhat unequal financial situation. Each year Catalonia has to give over 17 billion euros in taxes to the Spanish government, a huge contribution equal to about twenty percent of Spain’s funding, and so the federal government would take a major hit from losing such a large portion of their funds, which is potentially the one of the principle reasons that Spain is so angry. However, perhaps the pinnacle reasoning of the outbreak of rage is due to the unconstitutional and defiant behavior of their own autonomous region (much like the united states and territories who mostly govern themselves but answer to the federal government)  which is very similar to how the US government tends to react harshly on those who go against its constitution.


Do you think that Spain or Catalonia have the “correct” form of democracy?



Is constitutionality or democracy more important in this particular situation?

    Catalonia, one of Spain’s wealthiest regions, wants to break away from Spain and become an independent nation. On October 1st there was a holding of a binding referendum on independence for Catalonia. Of the 2.26 million people that voted 90% voted in favor of independence. Then the region’s parliament voted to establish an independent Catalonia with 70 votes in favor of independence, 10 votes against it and two blank ballots. The Spanish government has called this move “unconstitutional” and according to the Washington Post “...Spain’s prime minister announced that he would dismantle Cata­lonia’s government, suspend its ministers, dissolve its upstart legislature, take over the regional police and call home any Catalan diplomats abroad.” Obviously, Spain’s national government is against Catalonia’s ideas of becoming an independent nation. A major reason may be because of Catalonia’s major economic importance. The telegraph states that “Secession would therefore cost Spain almost 20 per cent of its economic output.” Losing Catalonia would have a major impact of Spain’s economy. If independence for Catalonia was recognized, it could have a major impact of other parts of the world. It may inspire regions in other counties to do the same and this might create the same tension present in Spain in other parts of the world. But as of right now, as stated by fox news, European neighbors such as Italy and France have rallied behind Spain and condemned Catalonia’s declaration of independence. All of the events in Spain and Catalonia can be related back to the purpose of government. John Locke, a natural rights philosopher, believed that if a government was not fulfilling the needs of the people then the people have the right to overthrow that government and create a new one. Catalonia believes that they have given more to the Spanish government than they have gotten back and are also “Propping up the poorer rest of Spain.” Based on the ideas of John Locke does Catalonia have the right to become independent and create their own government? Those in Catalonia most likely believe they do.

Is there hope for Catalonia to become independent or are they wasting their time? What might be able to sway Catalonia to no longer want to become independent?

@makenzie realistically I think this situation could only happen in America if one of our largest states with a high population was being mistreated by the government and got other states rallying beside them. Or a similar situation to the civil war would have to arise but if a state did want to become independent do you think America would grant them independence?

Catalonia is an independent region of the Iberian Peninsula, which is modern day Spain, with its own language, laws, and customs. According to Fox News, they are trying to push for independence because they want their own cultural identity however, Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, is only the is strongly against independence in Catalonia. The Catalan authorities went through with the vote anyways, leading to violence and the Spanish security forces confiscating ballot boxes and attempting to shut down the vote. USA Today states, “Spain took direct control of Catalonia, firing the region’s defiant separatist government a day after Catalan lawmakers passed a declaration of independence for the prosperous northeastern region.” Unit One was discussing how the colonists made the Declaration of Independence to break away from Great Britain and this is what Catalonia is trying to do with Spain. However, they are getting more of a violent reaction than what the colonists got. USA Today claims that Rajoy said the declaration of independence “not only goes against the law but is a criminal act.” Spain's top court declared the Oct. 1 independence vote was illegal, and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had warned that the government’s first move will be to remove Puigdemont from power. Fox News declares that, “Catalonia's refusal to backtrack from its independence threats triggered Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, the government said, which allows central authorities to take over control of any of the country’s 17 regions.” It’s a requirement that hasn’t been used in the forty years since democracy was restored in the European nation. Do you believe that a war will start because of Spain not letting Catalonia be independent?

Confer To answer your question, Spain is strongly against Catalonia leaving because this would cost 20 percent of Spain's economic output. They're worried about the economy and being in debt if they become independent. They also benefit greatly from Catalonia because they give little in return to them.

The topic of Catalonia and their desire for independence can be connected to some of the aspects from Unit One. In Unit One, we learned about John Locke’s political philosophies. According to Locke, any state/colony/region/group had the right to overthrow or break free from a government that held its own interests over those of the people, state, region etc. In this case, the Catalan people want to break free from the Spanish government, however, there seems to be no major oppression or lack of interest towards Catalonia from Spain. The major reasons Catalonia wishes for independence include the cultural differences between the Catalans and the Spanish as well as their economic relationship. According to The Telegraph, Catalonia “accounts for 19 percent of Spain’s GDP”. Also, if Catalonia were to break free, it would become the “34th largest economy in the world” as well as a nation “wealthier than South Korea, Israel, or Italy” (The Telegraph). Another factor in this strive for independence is the popularity of the idea among Catalans. According to Fox News, an Oct 1 referendum resulted in “about 90 percent of the 2.3 million people who voted choosing independence”. I can understand Catalonia’s cultural and economic motives for becoming independent. They are working in their own self-interest to better themselves as a region. However, I also recognize the arguments against Catalan independence, such as the possibility of inspiring other areas of the world to do the same, or the fact that Spain would lose “almost 20 percent of its economic output” (The Telegraph). Overall, it is a tough decision and the event is one that will be interesting to follow for the next few months. What do you think? Would this break from independence be a significant influence to other regions around the world to do the same? Is Spain handling the situation well?

Catalonia, one of Spain's wealthiest regions is trying to gain independence. Catalonia began as an independent country and has developed their own cultural customs which differ from those in Spain. 90 percent of their 2.3 million citizens voted in favor of it. Recently, Spain has entered an economic crisis. Due to this crisis, Spain is taxing Catalonia extremely unfair to help make up for their financial issues. The problems occurring in Spain are similar to the one which happened many years ago to the Colonist by being taxed unfairly by the British. When the colonist were treated wrong they fought for their independence from Britain, so I do not see the problem in Catalonia being able to gain their own independence. My article stated that “calls for complete independence grew steadily until July 2010” showing that Spain has been depending and mistreating Catalonia for a while now. Catalonia has been the economic crutch for Spain long enough, it’s time for Spain to figure out their issues by themselves. Besides, if Catalonia is one of the wealthiest regions of Spain they will be able to figure out a form of government for themselves. The only issue that I see with Catalonia gaining independence is that other regions of spain might try to do the same thing. Once one region is granted independence it will become a slippery slope for the rest of Spain. This is a very controversial topic and I am looking forward to see how it turn out it the future.