Catalonia crisis shows Spain's constitution is no longer fit for purpose

Amid reports swirling that Catalonia’s president, Carles Puigdemont, was either set to call new elections to the Catalan parliament or declare full independence from Spain, he abruptly cancelled a scheduled press conference on October 26. When he did speak, he did not call elections and said it was up to Catalonia’s parliament to decide how to act.

For Puigdemont, calling new elections would be a high-risk tactic. Even though many have come to deeply dislike the government’s violent response to Catalonia’s independence referendum on October 1, there is also dissatisfaction among Catalans who do not want independence. Puigdemont cannot guarantee that another poll will deal him a stronger hand. It could be seen as a tactic to remove the threat of an imposition of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, which would revoke Catalonia’s powers of autonomy – although the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has not officially confirmed that this would be the case.

Following Puigdemont’s semi-declaration of independence on October 10, he called for an opening of negotiations with Rajoy. But due to errors on both sides, the possibility for constructive dialogue remains feeble.

The decision of Catalan nationalists to commit to a legally binding referendum, despite the Constitutional Court ruling it to be illegal, was a statement intended to draw a line in the sand. The Rajoy government, however, fanned the fire rather than put it out. By bringing the Civil Guard onto the streets of Barcelona, and using every little bit of the crowd control legislation passed in July 2015, the government succeeded in turning an increasing amount of Catalans against them. The arrests of Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, the leaders of the two main nationalist organisations in Catalonia, also sparked further outrage.
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Catalan crisis: Thousands rally in Madrid, urge jailing of deposed leader

"Prison for Puigdemont," shouted thousands of people in central Madrid, gathered under a giant Spanish flag on Saturday in anger at Catalonia's unilateral declaration of independence under secessionist leader Carles Puigdemont.

As music blared from giant speakers -- from British band Coldplay to Spanish singer Manolo Escobar's "Y viva Espana" ("And long live Spain" in Spanish) -- pro-unity protesters banded together on the square.

Unhappy with Catalonia's secession bid, many also directed anger at Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whom they accuse of having been too soft on the region's separatist leaders.

"It is a disgrace what happened in Catalonia, and it's a disgrace what happened after," said Carlos Fernandez, a 41- year-old mining engineer.

On Friday, the Catalan parliament declared unilateral independence.

Rajoy replied by axing Puigdemont and his executive, dissolving parliament, and calling snap December 21 regional elections to quash what he termed an "escalation of disobedience."

"Nothing is going to change in two months," said Fernandez of Rajoy's intervention, "it's just prolonging the problem."

Sitting on a concrete ledge clutching a large red and yellow national flag, he said he was disappointed at the low pro-unity turnout.
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In a polarised Spain, what does it mean to be Spanish?

“Fracture” is the word of the day in Spain, where the Catalonia region's bid for independence and the Spanish government's response are not only pushing the country into uncharted political territory but also sowing the seeds of hate.

Many are warning that the crisis is giving rise to an “us versus them” mentality that is dangerously inaccurate in its simplism and uncomfortably familiar for a country that only four decades ago was under a fascist dictatorship.

If you don't support the October 1 independence referendum, which was suspended by Spain's Constitutional Court and deemed illegal by the central government, you must be anti-Catalan. If you don't applaud the actions of the central government, including the police violence against Catalan voters, you must be anti-Spain. Spanish is the only acceptable language, or Catalan is. There is only one Spanish identity and one Catalan identity. All or nothing.

Messages like these abound. But is the situation truly so binary, and Spain so uniform? Judging by the popularity of one woman's Facebook post about what it means to be Spanish, the answer is no.

In a viral missive, Laura Moreno de Lara describes a Spain that not only celebrates the many distinct cultures, customs and languages contained within, but defines itself by that diversity. A country not of disdain and violence, but of solidarity and love.
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Spain's third largest bank to exit Catalonia over voting tensions

Spain's third largest bank will move its headquarters from Catalonia due to increased tensions post voting on an independence referendum.

Caixa Bank took the decision to move out after an order from the government in Madrid made it easier for companies to move their bases out of the area, the Independent reports.
Another bank, Sadabell, has already moved out of Catalonia and relocated to Alicante.

Caixa Bank, which approximately has 25 per cent of its global business based in Catalonia, has been a major sponsor of social and cultural programmes in the region.

On October 3, Catalans took to streets of Barcelona to condemn the violent crackdown by Spanish security forces during the referendum on independence, in which 893 people were injured.

The Catalan Government said it had earned the right to split from Spain, claiming 90 percent of those who voted in last week's poll were in favour of independence.

Catalan nationalists have always argued that the region is a separate nation with its own history, culture and language, and that it should have increased fiscal independence.

In 2006, the Spanish government backed Catalonia's calls for greater powers. But, four years later, that status was rescinded by the Constitutional Court, which ruled that while Catalan is a "nationality," Catalonia is not a nation in itself.
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