Victorious Catalan Separatists Vow to Break with Spain
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Separatists took control of Catalonia’s regional government in an election result that could plunge Spain into one of its deepest political crises of recent years, by forcing Madrid to confront an openly secessionist government at the helm of one of its wealthiest regions.
A record-breaking number of Catalans cast their vote in Sunday’s election, billed as a de facto referendum on independence. With more than 98% of the votes counted, the nationalist coalition Junts pel Sí (Together for Yes) were projected to win 62 seats, while far-left pro-independence Popular Unity Candidacy, known in Spain as CUP, were set to gain 10 seats, meaning an alliance of the two parties could give secessionists an absolute majority in the region’s 135-seat parliament.
“We won,” said Catalan leaderArtur Mas i Gavarró, as a jubilant crowd waved estelada flags at a rally in Barcelona. “Today was a double victory – the yes side won, as did democracy,” Guardian reported on Monday.
After attempts by Catalan leaders to hold a referendum on independence were blocked by the central government in Madrid, Mas sought to turn the elections into a de facto referendum, pledging to begin the process of breaking away from Spain if Junts pel Sí won a majority of seats.
His party fell six seats short of a majority on Sunday. But Mas vowed to push forward with independence. “We ask that the world recognize the victory of Catalonia and the victory of the yes,” he said. “We have won and that gives us an enormous strength to push this project forward.”
Junts pel Sí, representing parties from the left and right, as well as grassroots independence activists, captured 39.7% of the vote, while CUP received 8.2%. The result leaves the separatists with 47.9% of the vote, shy of the 50%, plus one seat, that they would have needed if Sunday’s vote had been a real referendum.
The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has vowed to use the full power of the country’s judiciary to block any move towards independence.
In recent years, Rajoy and his governing conservative People’s party (PP) have refused to address underlying grievances over Catalonia’s language and identity, as well as concerns that the region pays more in taxes than it receives in investments and transfers from Madrid. Instead, his party repeatedly turned to the country’s constitutional court to shut down the process, backed by the Spanish constitution, which does not allow regions to unilaterally decide on sovereignty.
On Sunday, Catalans rebuffed the PP strategy in the region, giving them 11 seats, down from 19 seats in the previous elections and one of the party’s poorest showings ever in the Catalan regional parliament. “These are not the results we expected or wanted,” Xavier García Albiol, the PP leader in Catalonia said on Sunday.
On Sunday evening, CUP member Anna Gabriel said the independence project would continue, but noted that “Artur Mas isn’t essential”. CUP has also lobbied for a more immediate break with Spain, rather than the 18-month timeline charted by Junts pel Sí.
Any alliance with CUP may also modify the route to independence envisioned by Junts pel Sí. Mas has said the transitional government’s first step would be a declaration, made within days of taking office, proclaiming the beginning of the process to break away from Spain. From there, the priority of the government would be to sit down with Madrid and European institutions to address issues such as the management of shared borders, the energy grid and the Ebro river basin.