Comment: Why Scots should not get dewy-eyed about Catalan referendum

For a very different view, read Yes activist Liz Castro on why she believes the ghosts of dictator Francisco Franco haunts the Catalan vote.

By Borja Lasheras

I suspect that in Scotland there is a well of sympathy for the independence movement in Catalonia and the plans for a referendum this Sunday. I also suspect there is a lot of confusion about the vote.

I get questions on why could Spain did not "do a Scotland" and hold a referendum on secession.

There is a lot of global and Scottish criticism of Spanish measures in Catalonia. This criticism is partly thanks to the very skilful communication campaign of the the Catalan government, the Generalitat, and its spin doctors, who talk about “oppression”.

We see images of green-clad Guardia Civiles seizing ballot boxes and judges initiating criminal procedures against some politicians in Catalonia, for going ahead with a vote banned by the Spanish Constitutional Court. I understand that.

I myself am very troubled these days and wonder how Spain can get out of our worst constitutional crisis since the attempted coup d’état in 1981, the year I was born.

It is natural to feel a certain sympathy, tinged with romanticism, when you see throngs of people, including many youngsters, wrapped up in flags, exuding passion.

Alas not all flag-wielding crowds represent the pitomy of democracy. In my view, what is currently going on in Catalonia has little to do with the image of William Wallace routing the English cavalry in Stirling.

Rather, it reminds me of the disappointment that transpires from George Orwell’s “Homage to Catalonia”, when, inspired by the fight against fascism, he joined POUM, a communist-trotskyist brigade, only to end up hunted down by Stalinists, as the Spanish Republic fell in disarray.

George Orwell

So, as both a proud Basque supporter of home rule and a citizen of modern Spain, I want to make the case on why Sunday's Catalan vote is not a proper referendum. And I also want to explain why many of us in Spain are quite so harshly critical about the secession plans pushed for by the current leaders of the Generalitat.

Have you realised, amid so much noise, that in this referendum there is only one side, the “Yes” campaign?

It is so because no opposition party in Catalonia (Catalan Socialists, liberal Ciudadanos and conservative Popular Party, together with parts of Catalunya Sí Que Es Pot, a big leftist coalition) has agreed to take part in the vote. So forces representative of at least half of the Catalans will stay out.

Why? To begin with, the way the secession laws (“disconnection laws”) – that is, one law allowing for the referendum and another on the “Legal Transition” (providing for the elements of an independent Catalan Republic) – were passed on September 6 at the Catalan Parliament was shockingly undemocratic.

The pro-independence bloc, which enjoys a wafer-thin majority rode roughshod over Catalonia’s parliamentary rules, its own Statute and the rights of opposition MPs.

It did so in a grotesque late-night session, against the warnings of the legal attorneys of the Catalan Parliament and ignoring the Council of Statutory Guarantees, binding under Catalan law.

The opposition bloc left the session in protest and did not vote. Joan Coscubiela, spokesperson for CSQP, warned against the “abuse” of the majority, their “trampling” on democratic rights and the degradation of Catalan institutions. The EU has put PiS Poland under a rule of law infringement procedure for abuses similar to those committed by the pro-independence bloc in Catalonia.

A shirt featuring Catalan, Scottish and Basque flags

In this vote, there is no census, no Electoral Board, no independent body such as the OSCE or the Council of Europe doing the observation, etc.

It is therefore no wonder that the Venice Commission has said recently that this referendum does not meet its standards – a point, incidentally, also made by the Basque Country’s premier.

But the truth is that the leaders of the Generalitat aim to declare independence whether the Spanish Government allows for such a vote or not, and have already plans for an independent Catalan Republic, which would hardly meet European thresholds of pluralistic democracies, based on rule of law and equal rights.

The “Sí”, or Yes side, will therefore win this Sunday, in an inchoate and probably anarchic vote, as mostly supporters of independence (around 40% of the electorate) will turn up.

This is why this is no referendum, but a plebiscite on a decision already taken and largely imposed by a ruling majority.

Worryingly, this process has fractured Catalonia and polarized the rest of Spain, leading to a spike in hate speech. Some of my Catalan friends did not retweet one of my previous articles on the topic for fear of repercussions.

My friends at the Socialist Party of Catalonia, who supports more home rule and even a proper referendum, but oppose this, have seen some of their offices vandalized.

Together with other non-nationalist Catalans, are called “fachas” (a derisory term referring to Francoist, Spanish nationalists) or “non Catalans”, sometimes by high level authorities in Catalonia.

A recent report by Reporters Without Borders criticized the Generalitat for pressure on journalists.

Joan Manuel Serrat, a famous Catalan singer who stood against Francoism, has been labelled as “fascist” and trolled for rejecting this referendum.

Some of my fellow Catalans will not be in Barcelona in view of expected violence; others will try to vote, some to counter the “Sí” win, others to make their own point. We are braced for things to get worse. 

The secessionist leaders will not step back – they need victimhood to keep the momentum- while the response of Spanish law enforcement authorities, on legal grounds used for situations of insurrection and coup d’états, will also raise human rights concerns- which should be scrutinised too.

Any way out sees distant. The Spanish Constitution, like most modern democracies, prohibits the self-determination of our regions.

Pro-independence campaigners

Many Spaniards, including myself, feel that they also have the right to decide on the future of the country. A sort of Scottish option would thus seem very difficult, if not impossible – though many could eventually support it.

Another option would be to engage into an ambitious reform of the Constitution, allowing for maximum home rule to Catalonia (including tax powers similar to those of my fellow Basques), part of a broader reform of Spain.

This would then be put to a vote in Spain as a whole, and then in Catalonia, like in 1978 and 2006, the referendum of the Statute).

But I fear our leaders would need the statesmanship that, present at other crucial times in our history, now seems now wanting.

Sitting here, in a coffee place in Madrid, listening to one witty Spanish citizen of Chinese origin recounting her arrival in Andalusia and melting in this country, I reflect on how much we have achieved these decades. Spain has become a LGBT friendly, pluralistic, if at times a bit anarchic democracy in the EU.

I fret that this could be jeopardised if identity politics gain more traction. Perhaps we may need some friendly advice and engagement after all, including from Scots. Perhaps we just need to relearn Orwell, who warned us against the perils of nationalism. But this mess will take years for us to sort out.

One last thought for those who care about devolution in Spain: Sadly, Catalonia's push for unilateral secession might end up curtailing self government, unless they step back somehow