Catalonia by Cayetana

Adjunto el artículo publicado en el Financial Times el pasado 19 de Noviembre de 2012 por Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo.

Clar i en anglès

Catalonia’s future is for all Spain to decide

By Cayetana Alvarez de Toledo

Publicado el martes 19 de Noviembre de 2012 en el “Financial Times”

Catalonia is once again the subject of curiosity and concern. The international media takes relish in portraying the heroic battle for independence waged by a postmodern Iberian Braveheart that is poised to take a step forward with Sunday’s regional elections. The story is enthralling; an epic adventure worthy of sympathy and support. There is only one problem: it is not true.

Catalonia has never been independent. It is not a colony, neither is it a territory subjected by right of conquest, nor a historic nation stifled by an authoritarian regime. Catalonia contributed decisively to the making of Spain. It did so five centuries ago when Aragón, of which Catalonia was an essential part, united with Castile. And it did so again in 1978, when Catalans voted massively – with 91 per cent support – for the new democratic constitution. Since then, Catalans have enjoyed enormous influence over Spanish politics. Convergència i Unió, the nationalist coalition that now crusades for independence, has been the main ally of the different governments of Spain, socialist and liberal-conservative. Every single regional financing model has been backed by Catalonia, often enthusiastically.

With all its strengths and weaknesses the Spain of 2012 reflects the aims and aspirations of the people of Catalonia. Rather than being the passive subjects in a sad story of overbearing central rule or the victims of fiscal plundering and political oppression, they have played a leading part in a process that – despite Spain’s current economic woes – is a historical achievement. It is a victory of democracy over dictatorship, of reason over rage, and of compromise over conflict. And they have fared well. Never, in all history, have Catalans enjoyed more freedom and greater opportunities than under the broad umbrella of constitutional Spain.

It is wrong to think of Catalonia as a social bloc, a uniform entity. Beneath the surface, beyond the silences, the street-rallies and the parliamentary majorities, there are shades and edges. Polls consistently show that most Catalans feel, in varying proportions, both Catalan and Spanish. Complex identities are a feature of modern society. Catalan independence would inevitably entail not just the fragmentation of Spain but also – and more fundamentally – the fragmentation of Catalonia, provoking broken social bonds, family infighting and excruciating personal dilemmas. Forcing people to choose between two identities they have always considered compatible is grossly unfair. And, as all Europeans know, it can be dangerous.

Despite nationalist claims to the contrary, Catalonia’s position within Europe would be undermined by a unilateral declaration of independence as this would trigger expulsion from the EU. After months breeding false expectations, the Catalan nationalists have now admitted as much. Yet the idea of calling an independence referendum in 2014 – on the same day as Scotland’s – remains on their agenda.

The question is, what European state would tolerate the unilateral and illegal secession of a part of its territory? Sunday’s regional elections may well deliver a majority for the separatist parties who will then no doubt claim a legitimacy to press for a referendum. This is something the central government will never accept – not least because, under current law, it cannot. The Spanish constitution, which Catalans have backed, rules out secession. For Catalonia to be independent, the constitution would have to be reformed. And that would mean calling a referendum, not just in Catalonia but in the whole of Spain.

Catalan independence would fundamentally change the make-up of all Spain – and that is a decision for all Spaniards to take. The rule of law is at stake.

And so are elementary freedoms precious to post-Franco Spain. Radical nation-building entails a severe restriction of civil liberties. Pluralism is curtailed; minorities are silenced; the individual is effaced. Spain joined the EU when – and because – Spaniards decided to leave all that behind.

Now self-serving elites are bent on turning the clock back for Catalonia. Bent on restricting the use of Spanish in schools and public spaces; bent on enforcing the nationalist credo. Bent on pursuing a path that distances Catalonia from modernity.

Stronger democratic institutions and procedures, a more competitive and open economy, and further integration: these are what Catalonia, Spain and Europe need now. And they are incompatible with nationalism.

In 1945 George Orwell, a famous witness to Catalonian history, defined nationalism as “the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified as insects and that whole blocks of millions of people can be confidently labelled ‘good’ or ‘bad’.” Nationalism is indeed a bad habit, but also something else: it is the biggest impediment to freedom in Catalonia, the largest obstacle to prosperity in Spain and the most serious threat to European unity.