The "Consultation" in Catalonia
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- Published on Wednesday, 05 November 2014 20:22
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1052 .... November 6, 2014
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The Spanish political crisis is advancing slowly but inexorably. In the last five or six months we have witnessed a series of events that have exacerbated the process of decomposition: the turbulence produced by the European elections, the succession to the throne, the most serious corruption scandals to surface for generations, and the conflict between the central government and Catalonia. The right-wing government of [Prime Minister] Mariano Rajoy has sought relief in macroeceonomic data, but the optimism expressed is groundless: no figures are available to show a solid recovery, with the exception of the fall in unemployment, which is explicable on the basis of a seasonally favourable situation in the services sector. The period to come will be very difficult for the government, even decisive in different areas of conflict.
Regarding the burning question of the moment, the Catalan independence referendum, in January 2013 the Catalan parliament had approved a declaration of sovereignty. The government in Madrid appealed against this and the act was suspended by the Constitutional Court, the supreme judicial authority in the country. Then, this past September, the Catalan government of Artur Mas passed a so-called "consultation decree" that was meant to be the legal basis of the referendum on the relationship between Catalonia and the rest of the Spanish state.
The very day on which he signed the decree for the holding of the referendum, Catalonia President Artur Mas went on Catalan public television to assert that he felt dutybound to respect the Spanish and Catalan legal framework, but that he was certain Madrid would oppose the move; he pleaded for the faith of the people, with assurances that, with a bit of ingenuity, the Catalan people would be able to vote on its destiny. In a matter of hours, the Spanish council of ministers appealed for the quashing of the decree. The next day the Constitutional Court suspended the decree.
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