The opponents of a Catalan nation could be satisfied. The Catalan Government was removed by Madrid and the partial autonomy of Catalonia was abolished. Many Catalan politicians have to appear before the Spanish courts. This will only prove to be a pyrrus victory. Certainly now the recent elections announced by Rajoy in Catalonia resulted in a victory for the separatists' camp. It remains unclear as yet whether, in the longer term, there will be another guerrilla war, as was the case with ETA in the Basque Country in the past. Catalonia itself also had a left-nationalist guerrilla group, which gave up the fight in 1991 and was dissolved. However, now the provocations are continuing and more misery or even a massacre is being waged among the advocates of independence, this option will undoubtedly be put back on the table. The violence perpetrated during the referendum, in which more than 800 civilians were injured, does not augur well. The Catalan Prime Minister Carles Puigdemont's right-liberal centre party has long been cautious about independence. The events surrounding the referendum have therefore provoked a great deal of anger, even among the most moderate supporters of Catalan independence.
For a long time, the Catalans cherished the illusion that the European Union would accept and support Catalan independence. However, with the referendum, the European Union (EU) invariably supported Madrid and made no attempt whatsoever to condemn the violence against the Catalan people. Within the EU establishment, there was a fear that Catalan independence would fragment the Union further, because it would set an example for Scotland, Northern Ireland, Corsica or even South Tyrol. There was also the fear that this would throw oil on the fire of the financial crisis and that of the Euro crisis. In addition, the driving force behind the EU, namely the BRD government, was concerned that its economic interests would be harmed. The BRD has invested a great deal of capital in Catalonia in recent years. Spain itself is also in a stranglehold of austerity. Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves little room for Spain to breathe. Madrid is under strong pressure from the economic crisis and the imposed interventions from Berlin. Youth unemployment in Spain is already above 40%. Spain, after Greece, is probably the largest crisis country in the EU. Here we can study the failure of capitalism. "Then without the EU!" is now the new slogan in the streets of Catalonia. The seperatists are ' radicalised' in terms of their EU criticism. The supporters of Catalan independence are now putting down the EU flag en masse, where pro-Spanish demonstrators are still waving their EU flags.
Nevertheless, Catalans cannot count on the unconditional support from nationalists in the rest of Europe. These nationalists often have doubtful arguments for this. For some, it is all about "Franco" and the "Spanish civil war" of the past (fascism versus communism), which is projected directly on Catalonia in 2017. This is an absurd and also incorrect assumption. Their aversion to Catalan independence stems from a fear of socialism or left-wing anti-capitalism, should Catalan independence actually become a reality. That is, of course, nonsense. The Spanish 'socialists' fully support Rajoy's position. Moreover, the largest left-wing movement in Spain, Podemos, has also spoken out against Catalan independence. In Catalonia, the bourgeoisie, left-wing nationalists and right-wing forces are all in favour of independence. However, another part of the Catalans is opposed to independence. There is therefore no question of a left-wing front against Spain. This absurd theory of anti-communists would only be true if the Spanish majority were 'rightwing' and the Catalan majority' leftwing'. However, this is not the case at all. In addition to the bourgeoisie, Catalan nationalism indeed also has a strong left-nationalist tendency. Of course, this has historically taken on a strong anti-fascist form. But in contrast to the Netherlands or Germany, for example, this anti-fascism is not anti-national, but NATIONAL! However, whether or not the left is national, is of course of no concern at all for the Franco-nostalgists.
Logically, there are again some conspiracy theories going around in certain (nationalist) circles. With a reference to a report in a Catalan newspaper, some people have referred to Soros as being behind the Catalan referendum for independence. But whether this is the truth or not is not being investigated further, because it fits well within their own concepts. Others refer to the Spanish constitution to show that the separation of Catalonia is illegal. Again a nonsense argument. In the case of many modern states, separation from it was not allowed under the constitution. If we were to put this argument into practice, the Soviet Union would still exist today within the national borders of 1989, because all secession from the Soviet Union was constitutionally prohibited. According to this logic, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Estonia would still be' Russian' today. Even Yugoslavia would still have to exist if it were up to the constitution. Of course, national liberation movements are characterized by the fact that they do not recognise the constitution of the state that oppresses them!
Others on the other hand argue that there is no such thing as a Catalan nationalism. It is, of course, true that the Catalans define the nation differently than we do. This is the case for most peoples on earth. From our nationalistic point of view, it is not at all intended to apply it globally, because our nationalism is specifically concerned with the nature of OUR people. Different nations have different views on what their nation should look like. South American or Hindu nationalism has also hardly anything in common with German nationalism, but nobody cares. Catalan nationalism has both an anti-Völkisch tendency aswell as a Völkisch tendency: it aims to unite all Catalans, including those in France, within one nation. The "Greater Catalan" line is not shared by the bourgeois right, but is a leftist concept that is found particularly in the CUP (Candidatura de Unidad Popular). Their left-wing nationalism is not 'authoritarian' but 'emancipatory'; it is very similar to the left-wing nationalism of the Basque Country and Northern Ireland. However, Catalan nationalism also knows other tendencies, whether classical Marxist, reformist or nationalist. Even the Greens advocate a nationalist left-wing tendency there, in the tradition of the "Joventut Socialista Unificada, l' Entesa de Joves Nacionalistas d' Esquerra". Another myth is the claim that Catalonia wants to separate for purely economic reasons. Catalan GDP, however, is only slightly above that of the rest of the Spanish regions. An average Catalan earns 26,000 euros a year, a average Spaniard earns about 24,000 euros, in Madrid this is even more: 33,000 euros. Therefore, economic motives can hardly have played a role. It can be assumed that this is a genuine Catalan aspiration towards an independent nation and the will to preserve one's own national and cultural identity. The right to national self-determination as a people.
Then there are those who complain about the discrimination against Spaniards in Barcelona. But, was it not this unfair treatment against the Catalans that was the rootcause of this case? Catalans want independence because they are systematically discriminated by Madrid. The anti-Spanish resentment is not illogical for a Catalan. This is just as logical as an anti-Turkish resentment from Kurds or an anti-Italian resentment from South Tyrolean patriots. Of course, they often mean that the Catalans have more solidarity with an Arab refugee than with a Spanish immigrant. However, it should be borne in mind that the Catalans are not occupied by Riyadh or Baghdad, but by Madrid. So the assumption that Catalan nationalists should, for one reason or another, show solidarity with the rest of Spain is absurd. It would be the same as to ask Northern Ireland's Sinn Féin to show solidarity with its London oppressors. National solidarity can only exist among the members of a single nation, not among opposing nationalisms. A Catalan nationalist who has a interest in solidarity with Madrid, should first of all believe that he is no longer being oppressed or suppressed by it.
Finally, there is the 'argument' that Catalans support Islamisation and are "Refugees Welcome"-idiots. There are no fewer Muslims or refugees living in most Spanish regions than in Catalonia. The Catalan regional government has a quota of 5000 refugees, which, when converted to Merkel's Germany as a whole, would amount to some 60.000 refugees. About 1/3 of the "upper limit" set by CSU leader Seehofer as a condition for a coalition with the CDU. It goes without saying that the "Refugees Welcome"-idiot here is the Mayor of Barcelona. However, it will be very difficult to link this to the struggle for independence, as she is an opponent of Catalan independence.
Based on a article of Sache des Volkes
