Daniel BOSQUE -
Not content with controlling the regional government and hundreds of town halls, Catalonia’s independence movement is conquering new power centres even if the mayorship of Barcelona could still be out of reach. The push follows a failed attempt to declare independence from Spain in October 2017, which prompted the Spanish government to impose direct rule on the semi-autonomous region in Spain’s biggest crisis in decades.
In recent months, the movement took over Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce after a campaign to mobilise grassroots support. The pro-independence Intersindical-CSC union won elections among workers in the region’s public administration, becoming the union with most representation.
Then in May municipal elections, separatist candidate Ernest Maragall won the most votes. With enough support, he would be the first pro-independence mayor of the city since Spain transitioned to democracy in the 1970s.
That looks less likely now, however, as Maragall did not get a majority and looks unlikely to get the support he needs to become mayor.
Mobilising campaign: The separatists’ current drive focuses largely on gaining ground in financial or professional institutions. During the 2017 crisis, thousands of companies moved their legal headquarters out of Catalonia, including the banks CaixaBank and Banco Sabadell, energy group Naturgy and cava-maker Freixenet.
The grassroots campaign was launched in December by the Catalan Business Circle, a pro-secession business group, and the highly influential, separatist ANC civic association. Surveys indicate that more than half of Catalans are not in favour of independence.
But the idea was to encourage those independence supporters in Catalonia not only to go to protests but also to vote for separatist candidates in elections to unions, financial institutions, professional associations or sporting federations.
“We realised that apart from parliament, town halls and the government, there was a network of power structures that were mainly in the hands of people who weren’t pro-independence,” Montse Soler of the ANC said.
Towards new conquests: “Until now, the business community as a whole has been represented by big business, with a unionist message,” Joan Canadell, founder of the Catalan Business Circle, said.
That’s something he wanted to change with the joint campaign with ANC. In May, 31 of its candidates were elected to the executive of Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce out of 40 posts that were up for grabs, taking control.
The Chamber of Commerce has a budget of 19.8 million euros ($22.3 million) and is represented in key economic entities in the area, in the tourism, logistics and events sectors.
Canadell, the co-founder of the low-cost Petroleos Independientes petrol stations whose logo includes the Catalan separatist flag, will be its president.
“For us, the objective itself is not independence but it’s obvious that we will work for it,” he said. His victory, due in no small part to the votes of small businesses, caused concern in other financial circles.
“It will increase the isolation of the Catalan business network and conflict with other institutions, and it sends a message of instability and populist drift,” said the anti-independence “Businesspeople of Catalonia” association.
And then there is the separatist government of Catalonia which rules one of the richest of Spain’s 17 semi-autonomous regions.
Early in June, the regional executive named Eduard Sallent at the head of the 17,000-strong Mossos d’Esquadra Catalan police force.
With 1.6 million inhabitants out of the 7.5 million in the northeastern Catalonia region, the city has historically been a counterweight to rampant nationalism in the countryside. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
