Catalonia’s separatist movement is at risk of breaking apart over deepening infighting about the right strategy to culminate the long-held desire for the region to secede from Spain and become an independent state.
The fault lines widened on Saturday, when the far-left CUP party demanded an unambiguous affirmation of Catalan independence from regional president Carles Puigdemont by the Monday deadline given by Spain’s central government.
Puigdemont said that week that he had ‘accepted’ a mandate for independence based on the results of a disputed referendum, but that he wanted parliament to delay its implementation to open negotiations with Spain.
Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has given him until Monday to clarify his position – and then until Thursday to change his mind if he insists on a split – threatening to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy if he chooses independence.
Meanwhile, far-right groups are increasingly taking to the streets in their quest for Spanish unity, sparking fears they will grow stronger after decades on the margins, analysts say.
The far-left CUP party demanded an affirmation of Catalan independence from regional president Carles Puigdemont by the Monday deadline given by Spain’s central government
CUP spokeswoman Nuria Gibert said the far-left Catalan party CUP would probably withdraw its support for his minority government if Puigdemont says he did not declare independence
In central Barcelona on Thursday, xenophobic group Hogar Social, far-right party Vox and ultra nationalist group Espana 2000 rallied along with tens of thousands of families, couples and retirees for Spain’s national day.
Not far off on Barcelona’s mountain of Montjuic, several hundred other far-right supporters rallied, holding fiery speeches next to a stand selling memorabilia like Adolf Hitler’s ‘political testament’ or items marked with ‘SS’, the insignia of the Nazi elite force.
Small groups of far-right supporters have gathered on other occasions in Barcelona, or further afield in Valencia or the Balearic Islands – parts of Spain with strong regional identities – sparking scuffles.
While these types of incidents have happened in the past, some fear that the far-right could grow stronger if the face-off between Spain’s central government and Catalan leaders who want to break away persists.
‘The longer the polarisation (in Spain) and the harder it is to resolve the conflict, the more the potential for these groups to get organised and gain political influence, or take to the streets,’ says political analyst Pablo Simon.
‘There have never been such big protests with Spanish flags, and that’s what these groups are taking advantage of to grow bolder and expand. They’re becoming more visible.’
Historian Xavier Casals, who specialises in the far-right, counters that there is currently no political party with a brand strong enough to capitalise on the Catalan crisis.
Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (pictured) has given him until Monday to clarify his position – and then until Thursday to change his mind if he insists on a split – threatening to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy if he chooses independence
But he adds that it is difficult to gauge what will happen as ‘the situation in Catalonia is evolving rapidly, with unpredictable and changing scenarios’.
Puigdemont, who is holding consultations with local parties to prepare his decision, faces a tough dilemma.
If he says he did proclaim independence, the central government will step in.
If he says he did not declare it, then the far-left Catalan party CUP would probably withdraw its support for his minority government.
Such a move would likely bring down Puigdemont’s government and force elections.
‘Until there is (a declaration of independence), we don’t see any sense in continuing normal parliamentary activity,’ CUP spokeswoman Nuria Gibert said.
CUP had initially given Puigdemont a month to attempt talks with the Spanish government.
Puigdemont made a symbolic declaration of independence on Tuesday night, only to suspend it seconds later and call for negotiations with Madrid on the region’s future.
He disappointed the party and the secession movement’s grassroots groups when he wavered on making an outright declaration of independence.
Instead, Puigdemont asked separatist lawmakers to delay the declaration to provide more time for dialogue.
Gibert said Puigdemont’s ambiguous position only creates ‘confusion.’
While CUP upped the pressure on Puigdemont, his main ally appealed to supporters of secession to stop bickering and stand behind their leader.
Meanwhile, far-right groups are increasingly taking to the streets in their quest for Spanish unity, sparking fears they will grow stronger after decades on the margins, analysts say
‘We must preserve the unity that is necessary to go all the way on this path to a republic,’ Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras said.
Junqueras delivered his message to 200 members of his Republic Left party at its headquarters in Barcelona. The party forms a governing coalition with Puigdemont’s conservatives in Catalonia’s parliament.
Junqueras said the best way forward was for secessionists to show the world ‘who wants to offer dialogue and who rejects it.’
Spain’s conservative government, led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, is also leaning heavily on Puigdemont. The Monday deadline it gave him to clarify his position on independence came with an ultimatum: fall in line by Oct. 19 or face losing some or all of the region’s autonomous powers.
‘Time for reflection is running out for Carles Puigdemont,’ Andrea Levy, a member of the Catalan parliament from Rajoy’s Popular Party, said Saturday.
Along with being flanked politically, Puigdemont has economic factors to consider. Banks and businesses are discussing relocating their headquarters from Catalonia to other parts of Spain over fears they would be out of the common European Union market if the region breaks away from the country.
The Spanish government has warned that the constitutional crisis in Catalonia is already hurting the economy.
Puigdemont claimed he had the mandate to declare an independent Catalonia after an overwhelming ‘Yes’ vote in a October 1 referendum that Spain’s top court had suspended on grounds the vote was likely unconstitutional.
In central Barcelona on Thursday, xenophobic group Hogar Social, far-right party Vox and ultra nationalist group Espana 2000 rallied along with tens of thousands of families, couples and retirees for Spain’s national day
Not far off on Barcelona’s mountain of Montjuic, several hundred other far-right supporters rallied, holding fiery speeches next to a stand selling memorabilia like Adolf Hitler’s ‘political testament’ or items marked with ‘SS’, the insignia of the Nazi elite force
Only 43 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots amid a brutal Spanish police crackdown. Parties against secession boycotted the referendum.
Polls show roughly half of Catalonia’s 7.5 million residents don’t want to leave Spain. Pro-union forces have held large rallies in Barcelona this week.
The European Union supports a united Spain and no foreign country has voice support for Catalonia’s separatists.
Under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, the central government in Madrid can suspend the political autonomy of a region if it breaks the law.
This article, which enables Rajoy to sack the Catalan government and call a regional election, has never been activated since the constitution was adopted in 1978 after the death of dictator Francisco Franco.
As Catalonia faces potential independance from Spain, the nation’s far-right, which has been on the margins for decades, has started to hold rallies in cities across the country.
Unlike other European countries such as France or Germany, Spain’s far-right is very much on the margin and ‘has been hugely fragmented since the start of the 1980s,’ says Jordi Borras, a photojournalist who has long studied the issue.
The country’s national parliament has not had any far-right lawmaker since 1982.
After Spain transitioned to democracy in the 1970s, the far-right found itself unable to broaden its appeal beyond nostalgia for Francisco Franco’s 1939-1975 dictatorship, says Borras.
Not only that, but many people who identify with the far-right vote for Spain’s conservative Popular Party, which is currently in power, he adds.
Demonstrators from Spanish far right groups watch on after burning a Catalan flag after marching from Barcelona’s Plaza Espanya square on Thursday
Small groups of far-right supporters have gathered on other occasions in Barcelona, or further afield in Valencia or the Balearic Islands – parts of Spain with strong regional identities – sparking scuffles
But while issues such as immigration or Islamophobia federate the far-right in other countries, ‘the catalyst for Spain’s far-right is Catalonia’s independence movement, because their main obsession is guaranteeing Spain’s unity,’ says Borras.
On Thursday in Barcelona, Manuel Andrino, leader of the Falange, a small far-right party, pointed out in an angry speech that Madrid was hosting its traditional national day military parade.
‘I don’t think there’s any parade to celebrate, and even less in Madrid. Our army needs to be here, now, with our compatriots,’ he shouted.
Sociologist Narciso Michavila says that while opinion polls show ‘a rise of parties like Vox,’ they still don’t have much support.
But Catalan nationalist leaders, in his opinion, ‘have spread xenophobia with regards to other Spaniards,’ with themes such as ‘Spain is robbing us,’ in reference to a widely-used complaint that Catalonia pays more in taxes to Madrid than it gets back.
Michavila says this has contributed to the far-right’s response to the Catalan crisis at a time of high political tension.
‘At the end of the day, extremes need each other,’ he says. ‘They live off this radicalness and this confrontation.’
Borras, meanwhile, says he has ‘been warning for a while that things will escalate.’
‘It’s very probable that there will be more incidents.’