Catalan protesters blocked dozens of roads across Spain’s largest regional economy on Tuesday as part of a strike called by separatists to condemn the Spanish police’s crackdown on voters during Sunday’s independence referendum that was carried out in defiance of the central government in Madrid. Public transport, offices and shops were closed.
90 per cent of almost 2.3 million votes cast in the referendum were in favour of independence for Catalonia, which has the economy roughly the size of Portugal. Most of those opposed to independence stayed away. Catalonia’s referendum law, passed in September, didn’t set a minimum threshold of votes for the result to be valid. The regional government, led by President Carles Puigdemont, had previously said it would declare independence within 48 hours of a Yes vote, regardless of the turnout level.
Images of policy storming Catalan government offices, arresting officials and beating protesters, who were blockading schools where voting was to take place, in order to disrupt the referendum brought moderates over to the independence cause. Catalonia’s 17,000-strong autonomous police force seemed unwilling to seize ballot boxes or stop the voting, disregarding Madrid’s orders to prevent the referendum from taking place.
Almost 900 people were injured in clashes during the independence referendum. The crackdown on voting drew condemnation from parts of Europe, including Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain’s opposition Labour party, and Charles Michel, Belgium’s prime minister.
Spain’s conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faces a difficult task as his government is obliged to enforce Spanish law and preserve the integrity of the country (the Spanish constitution says that Spain cannot be broken up). Mr Rajoy’s centre-right minority government could fall, if the opposition took advantage of events in Catalonia. Less than a week before the referendum, the government withdrew its 2018 budget from parliament, saying it didn’t have votes to pass it.
A unilateral declaration of independence will have no legal force as the referendum has been ruled illegal and invalid by the Spanish Constitutional Court. But it will plunge Spain into the most serious political and constitutional crisis since the death of Francisco Franco in 1975. Madrid will likely be forced to apply never-before-used article 155 of the 1978 constitution to suspend the autonomy of Catalonia or arrest regional leaders.
The Catalan government has appealed to the EU to help broker negotiations with Madrid, a sign that independence would not happen immediately. The central government in Madrid, however, is not open to talks as long as the regional government pushes for full independence from Spain. Brussels has refused to heed Catalan pleas for recognition as it is wary of encouraging separatist forces at a time of rising nationalism and populism. The European Union says that Catalonia is a matter for Spain.
The Bank of Spain, the central bank, forecasts that gross domestic product will expand 3.1 per cent this year, but the rapid escalation in tensions is likely to affect the economy. Catalonia represents 25 per cent of all Spanish exports and 20 per cent of Spain’s GDP and pays more in taxes than it receives in government spending.
Spain’s benchmark Ibex 35 index declined 1.2 per cent on Monday as the risk of a breakaway rose, while other European stock indices posted modest gains. The yield on the benchmark 10-year debt, which moves in the opposite direction to its price, climbed 7 basis points to 1.67 per cent, its highest level since July. The euro also came under pressure, falling 0.7 per cent against the dollar to trade at $1.1735.
Photo: Assemblea.cat
