Spanish Government considers Catalan vote "useless and sterile propaganda" without democratic validity

Barcelona (ACN).- On November 9, the Spanish Government has once again downplayed the participatory process on independence held in Catalonia. And it did so on the day it took place and just when it finished, after more than 2 million people had peacefully cast their ballot in a non-binding citizen participation process that was organised as a light alternative of the original consultation vote, that had been banned by the Spanish authorities. On Sunday evening, after the polls had closed, the Spanish Justice Minister, Rafael Català, defined the vote as "a useless and sterile simulation" and "a pure act of propaganda", which does not have any democratic validity. In addition, the process was an attempt "to hide the personal failure" by the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, "for not having been able to organise the illegal consultation vote announced in December 2013", which was blocked by the Spanish Executive. In addition, he recalled that the Public Prosecution Office is "gathering data" in order to launch "the required penal actions". The Spanish Justice Minister recorded this statement in front of only the Spanish Public Television Broadcaster (TVE), without any other media present and without admitting questions. Furthermore, in the morning, sources from the office of the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, warned Artur Mas that his "attitude" on November 9 "does not benefit future relations", referring to the Catalan President telling the Public Prosecutor Office that he was the one responsible for opening the polling stations in public venues.

The Spanish Government's first reaction to the peaceful and civic-minded participatory process about independence that took place throughout Catalonia on Sunday has been in the same line of the last two years' no-to-everything attitude. "Citizens have been pushed into participating in a useless and sterile simulation in which Artur Mas wanted to hide his personal failure for not having been able to organise the illegal consultation vote that he announced on the 12^th December" of 2013. Such a vote had been agreed upon among 6 parties representing a two third majority of the Catalan Parliament, following the democratic mandate of the last Catalan elections, held in November 2012. Back then, 80% of the newly elected Catalan Parliament ran by promising the organisation of a legal self-determination vote, which is a clear democratic mandate the Spanish Government has been ignoring for the last 2 years, totally refusing to sit and negotiate how to make it possible. After waiting for more than a year for the Spanish Government to sit and talk, Catalan parties decided to go one step further and avoid Madrid's blocking attitude. However, they repeated on several occasions during the last 10 months that they were open to renegotiating the consultation vote's exact date and question wording if the Spanish Government were open to negotiating a mutually-agreed referendum.

Rafael Catalá said on Sunday evening that the participatory process had been "an act of pure propaganda". According to him, Spain is "a consolidated democratic regime where freedom of expression and manifestations exist and where consultation votes are run by strict rules that have to guarantee impartiality and neutrality", and "none of those requirements were present" in Catalonia's vote. However, Catalá kept comparing the participatory process to a regular consultation vote and even to a hidden referendum, when Catalan representatives acknowledged from the first day that this Sunday's vote was not a proper referendum and that democratic guarantees could not be the same for a regular electoral process. In fact, Catalan representatives repeated that this November 9's vote was an exercise in freedom of expression, but that a definitive referendum would have to come afterwards.

Public Prosecutor Office could launch penal actions

According to the Spanish Justice Minister, this Sunday's process was organised "outside of the legal framework" and "it was not based on Catalan law nor on any decree". Furthermore, Catalá added that the vote's promoters "had given up on pretending being neutral, since they were judges and part of the process". In addition, "equality among Catalans has not even been respected", he stated. "Therefore, we are in front of an act of pure propaganda that has no legal effects and has only been helpful in increasing the division among Catalans and to tense political relations inside and outside of Catalonia", he concluded. In addition, he recalled that the Public Prosecutor Office is "gathering data" in order to launch "the required penal actions".