republic

The negotiations between pro-independence forces radical left CUP and cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ to constitute a new government in Catalonia are continuing. The results of the 20-D Spanish Elections and the victory of alternative left coalition En Comú Podem in Catalonia and the good result of left wing ERC show that Catalonia is turning to the left, according to CUP. The party has therefore reinforced their ‘no’ to instating Artur Mas as Catalan President and has called on ‘Junts Pel Sí’ to propose “an alternative presidency which could generate a greater consensus”. CUP has also invited En Comú Podem and their partners in the Catalan Parliament, Catalunya Sí que es Pot, to join the “constitutive process of the Catalan Republic”.

The Commission for Dignity, an NGO that aims to return the documents confiscated by Franco’s troops at the end of the Spanish Civil War to their rightful owners in Catalonia,“urged” the Spanish state and the army to condemn the court-martial that executed Catalan President, Lluís Companys in 1940. The Commission also invited Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and commanding officer of the Spanish military forces stationed in Catalonia, General Boyero Delgado, to attend the commemoration events “as an action of normality”. One of its initiatives to fight for the preservation of historical memory is to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of Companys’ execution. As a tribute, the Commission is also preparing a concert on the 11^th of October, performed by the School of Music of Catalonia (ESMUC) and to be held at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC).

Two weeks after the 27-S Catalan elections, the debate on who will be the next President is still bogged down. Pro-independence unitary list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ (‘Together For Yes’), which won the elections but didn’t get an absolute majority, confirmed that Artur Mas was their candidate to run for President. However, radical left CUP have repeatedly stated that they won’t instate Mas as President, as an independent Catalonia needs a leader “who can’t be identified with cuts, corruption and privatisations”. “Now we are extremely focused on the content, the what, when, and how” stated CUP’s leader Antonio Baños, in an interview with 'Catalunya Ràdio'. Simultaneously, in another radio interview, ‘Junts Pel Sí’ lead member Raül Romeva assured that he “agrees with almost everything” regarding CUP’s roadmap towards independence and insisted that choosing a candidate to be President “is now secondary”.

Catalonia has once again organised one of the largest demonstrations in Europe on its National Day. 1.4 million people formed a 5.2 km line in Barcelona to show their support for the creation of an independent state for Catalonia, according to local police. The organisers from the grass-roots Catalan National Assembly (ANC) put the figure at 2 million. Its president, Jordi Sánchez, urged politicians to go ahead with independence if Yes parties win a majority in the 27th of September election. “They should not let us down. They need to know that they’ve got hundreds of thousands of people behind them. Today we are on the street, tomorrow we will be in the polling station”, he said. According to Sánchez, this year's demonstration has been a “success”.

A gigantic demonstration is being prepared by the two civil society associations supporting the independence process, the Catalan National Assembly and Òmnium Cultural, for Catalonia’s National Day. The ‘Via Lliure cap a la República Catalana’ (‘Gateway to the Catalan Republic’) arrives after three years in a row of historic pro-independence rallies that have gathered more than 1.5 million people each. This time the demonstration will take place along Meridiana Avenue in Barcelona and there are already 360,000 people registered to participate. The rally will make its way along a 5.2-kilometre-stretch, from the ‘Parc de la Ciutadella’ – where the Catalan Parliament is located – to the outskirts of the Catalan capital, symbolically linking the institution that represents Catalonia's sovereignty with the streets of Barcelona and the rest of the country. 

Nearly 300 Catalans living in London have come out in support for the independence process and defended a “yes” vote in the forthcoming 27-S elections, set to be a ‘de facto’ plebiscite on independence. Carrying Catalan and pro-independence flags, they marched along the streets of the British capital passing by icons of the city such as St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Parliament and the London Eye. The rally was linked to the ‘Via Lliure cap a la República Catalana’ (‘Gateway to the Catalan Republic’), the mass demonstration that the civil society organisations Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural are organising for this coming Catalan National Day, on the 11^th of September. Once the demonstrators arrived at Kennington Park, they displayed the same mosaic that will be created in Barcelona on the 11^th of September. Catalan traditional human towers, ‘Castellers’, and ‘Sardanes’, Catalonia’s traditional dance, were also on display in the most festive part of the London rally.  

Jordi Sánchez, the new President of the civil society organisation Catalan National Assembly (ANC), which co-organised the massive pro-independence rallies, has ruled out the possibility of unilaterally declaring independence the day after the next Catalan Parliament elections, should a clear majority of pro-independence parties win. These elections are presented by the Catalan Government and by the parties supporting independence as a ‘de facto’ plebiscite on this issue, since it is the only option left to hold a legal self-determination vote after the unilateral veto and no-to-everything attitude of the Spanish Government during the last two-and-a-half years. However, even though Sánchez completely supports such a plebiscite, he stated that a unilateral declaration of independence on the day after “would not be possible” and “it is not the road to take”. “I will not send signals about things I believe will not happen”, added Sánchez, who on Saturday was elected to lead the ANC.

A strategic gas pipeline is to be built through the Catalan Pyrenees, linking the Iberian Peninsula with France and Central Europe. The Midcat project aims to reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas by 40%, diversifying the sources of supply. The pipeline should be operational by 2020, announced on Thursday the Spanish Minister for Industry, José Manuel Soria. The day before, French President, François Hollande, Spanish PM, Mariano Rajoy, Portuguese PM, Pedro Passos Coelho, and European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, re-launched the project's construction. Midcat started to be planned in 2007 but it was halted for several years, mainly due to a lack of interest from French companies and institutions, which were not guaranteeing to build their part. Now, the crisis with Russia has reignited the urge to find alternative gas suppliers for Central Europe.

The Catalan Government’s Deputy Minister for External Affairs, Roger Albinyana, announced the Executive’s aim to have a network of “about 50 delegations” throughout the world, representing Catalonia’s political, business and cultural interests abroad. The Catalan Government currently has 7 delegations abroad, after the new representations in Rome and Vienna start to work on Monday, when the representatives were appointed. The 5 others are located in Brussels, London, Paris, Berlin and Washington. In the coming “months and years”, the Catalan Government will continue to open new delegations. Regardless of the hypothetical independence from Spain, the Catalan Executive already has the powers to have its own External Action policy, recognised by the Catalan Statute of Autonomy from 2006, although with many limitations.

The Barcelona-based car manufacturer Seat, which is part of the Volkswagen group, ended 2014 with a 10% growth in sales. During last year, Seat sold 390,500 vehicles worldwide, which are produced in its factory in Martorell (Greater Barcelona). This plant increased production by 13.5%, reaching its highest level for 12 years. The factory has now achieved 5 consecutive years of growth. The company’s shining light during 2014 was the León model, sales of which increased by 50%, reaching 154,100 units sold, breaking its sales record. This type of car has become “the brand’s second pillar” after the Seat Ibiza, stated the company’s President, Jürgen Stackmann. During the last 2 years, Seat global sales have grown by 21.7%, surpassing their 2007 pre-crisis levels.

The former European Commission’s Spokesperson for Economic Affairs during the Eurozone crisis, Amadeu Altafaj, is to become Catalonia’s Permanent Representative to the EU institutions. This position has been created as a way to increase the political weight of the already existing Catalan Government Delegation in Brussels in the middle of the debate about independence from Spain. Altafaj, who has also worked as Deputy Chief of Cabinet of the Commission’s Vice President for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn, since 2012, will now direct this delegation and become Catalonia’s voice in the EU institutions’ offices. On many occasions, Altafaj has been vocal about Catalonia’s self-determination, supporting it and emphasising that an independent Catalan State would be economically viable.

The left-wing Catalan independence party ERC, which has shared a parliamentary stability agreement with the governing centre-right pro-Catalan State coalition CiU for the last 2 years, is pushing to begin a new political period. The ERC’s leader, Oriol Junqueras, met on Thursday with the President of the Catalan Government and CiU’s leader, Artur Mas, and confirmed to him that they will not back the new budget for 2015. The evening before, Junqueras had presented his road map for the next few months. The ERC wants early elections now, which would become “constituent elections” if a majority of pro-independence parties were to win. Furthermore, the ERC prefers to run alone, not in a shared electoral list. If Catalans voted for a majority of pro-independence parties, the new Parliament would start building the new state’s basic structures and drafting a Constitution, which would have to be later ratified through a binding referendum.

Catalan parties welcomed the new King in a cold manner, and some were even directly absent from the coronation and participated instead in events in favour of a republican regime. However, after a few days of uncertainty, the President of the Catalan Government and leader of the Centre-Right pro-Catalan State CiU, Artur Mas, attended the ceremony in Madrid. Despite the fact that CiU did not give its explicit support to the King's succession, the CiU representatives were all present at the ceremony, although without showing enthusiasm. In addition, Mas insisted that he continues with his "wait and see" attitude, as the King's speech "did not offer anything new". Meanwhile, representatives from the Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) did not attend the ceremonies, neither did representatives from the Catalan Green Socialist Coalition (ICV-EUiA), who participated in a small pro-republic demonstration in Barcelona at the exact same time the new King was swearing the Constitution.

The new SUV model of SEAT, which is part of the Volkwagen Group, will be produced in the Czech Republic rather than in the Martorell plant despite being entirely designed in the SEAT Technical Centre in Martorell (Greater Barcelona), according to sources from the German car manufacturer. The company justified the decision because of "lower production costs" at the Czech Skoda plant. The news that the manufacturing of the model will be moved away from Barcelona has come as a blow to the CCOO trade union, which has expressed its regret that the Catalan factory has lost the opportunity to have a secure workload for the coming years. CCOO has suggested that the Martorell plant requires a business plan to ensure the allocation of new models.

The International Film Festival of Animation in Catalonia has celebrated its 18^th birthday by presenting 235 pieces under the leitmotif of 'hybrid’. The mix of real images and animation has been the main theme in the 2014 edition. The presence of special guests Czech director Ji?í Barta and British BAFTA nominated Chris Shepherd, Walt Disney’s Alice’s Wonderland, Michel Gondry’s L’écume des jours and a conference by The Amazing World of Gumball's creators have been the main components of this year’s festival, which was organised by Lleida City Council.