Mas fails to defend Catalonia’s interests

The perversity of the Spanish tax system is that Catalonia, while is being plundered every year 40% of taxes collected in Catalonia which never come back, has just been forced by Spain to a humiliating bailout.

The yearly fiscal deficit of Catalonia with Spain amounts to 18 billion euros for a population of 7.5 million.

How can the system be such that the net contributor to the finances of a state, Catalonia, needs to be bailed out with their own money? How can Spain blame Catalonia for the state of their dire finances when most services are provided by Catalonia but most debt is caused by the Spanish government spending?

Catalan President Mas and its government have failed today to defend Catalonia’s interests and has opened the possibility for Spain to suppress Catalonia’s institutions. In the terms that Mas’ party voted for in Madrid.

Mas promised he would achieve fiscal independence for Catalonia during this term but instead his government has surrendered what was left of Catalonia’s self government to Spain in a silver platter for a mere 5 billion euros. Mas has failed to stand for its country.

Because essentially after the bailout, any deviation from the deficit targets by Catalonia, which it will not meet because of the general state of the economy, will mean that the Spanish Government will be able to decide exactly how every euro cent will be spent in Catalonia (CA). So it will be almost impossible to stop things like this or this from happening.

Not to speak of the public and international humiliation at having Catalonia be seen as an irresponsible country and the damage to its image and credibility because the Catalan Government has failed to explain the situation.

Mas should resign immediately and call for elections.

Doncs jo espero que el Govern no vagi a la manifestació de l’11S

Llegeixo estupefacte que els membres del govern es plantejen anar a la manifestació. Jo espero que no hi vagin. Perquè si no hi van pot ser per dos motius:

  1. Que no comparteixen el lema de la manifestació “Catalunya nou estat d’europa”, molt legítim, ells van anar a les eleccions defensant això del pacte fiscal i el poble els va elegir. Res a dir. (Podríem parlar sobre com en les actuals circumstàncies ningú discutiria que llencessin el guió per la finestra però això seria esperar massa)
  2. Que comparteixen l’objectiu i estan planificant la transició cap a l’estat propi des dels seus depatxos. (Ho dubto, encara que m’encantaria equivocar-me)

Però si hi van aleshores només vol dir una cosa. Que no saben ni qui són ni a qui representen.

Com que jo no podré ser-hi (ara mateix visc a Anglaterra) si algú es troba cap membre del govern a la manifestació del dia 11 li podeu si us plau preguntar de part meva: “Si vosté és aquí vol dir que comparteix el lema de la manifestació. Aleshores, em pot si us plau explicar què fa aquí i no al seu lloc de treball planificant la transició? I si no pot amb la responsibilitat aleshores dimiteixin o convoquin eleccions demà mateix”

És preocupant que l’únic estudi amb cara i ulls de les accions a prendre per a assolir la independència de Catalunya fins ara l’hagi hagut de fer el Cercle Català de Negocis i no el Govern.

En tot cas. La meva enhorabona al CCN. Esteu fent una feina molt important.

Ja n’hi ha prou d’inconcreció. O es vol la independència o no es vol. I si es vol el que no es pot fer és anar a una manifestació a demanar-la com si no fossis membre del Govern i la cosa no anés amb tu. Una mica de serietat, si us plau, que la situació és greu.

Madrid’s “No” is Catalonia’s ladder of escape

The Catalan Parliament shifted visibly on wednesday from left-right blocks to Catalonia-Spain blocks. CiU, ERC and ICV, the Catalan parties, voted in majority on one side to demand Spain for Catalonia to collect all its taxes. PSC and PP were on the other side.

Catalonia is being deliberately starved of its own resources by the Spanish Government to force a bankruptcy and intervene. While this struggle may seem from the outside as purely an internal Spanish problem it is not. The starvation of resources is deliberate to force Catalonia to ask for a bailout to continue with Spain’s nationalistic agenda.

Even though from Catalonia things could certainly have been done better it would not be in this dire situation if it wasn’t for the 16 billion euros, or around 8-10% of its GDP (that’s about 40% of all taxes collected in Catalonia) which is plundered every year by Spain. Catalonia is only asking to dispose of its own resources in this time of crisis.

On wednesday a clear shift has taken place and the Catalan Parliament shows now a Catalonia-Spain dicotomy. While many independentists don’t believe this intermediate station is required (to ask Spain for Catalonia to collect all its taxes) Spain’s predictable reaction may be and eye opener for many to join the pro independence ranks. Currently 51% of Catalans would vote yes to independence and only 21% would vote no. With a 8% growth of the yes option only in the last year.

Immediately after the Catalan Parliament resolved to demand Spain to collect all taxes (currently Spain collects >95% of the taxes in Catalonia) Spanish Miniter Montoro completely discarded the possibility. The Basque Country already enjoys the tax collection system that Catalonia is demanding and it has proven effective since unemployment figures are half of those in Catalonia and it’s economy much more sheltered from the Spanish crisis.

After the summer Catalonia will need financing from Spain to pay its debts, but in exchange Spain will demand political changes that will be targeted against Catalan culture and interests. Spain has been using the legal system to this end in the last 3 decades.

And then at that point Catalonia will be at the crossroads. To let Spain take control and disappear or to become a State. President Mas will have to take control of the situation justified on Spain’s disloyalty against Catalonia and eventually let Catalan people speak. Events are accelerating.

Per què el PP no pot, encara que vulgui, donar el concert econòmic a Catalunya

És impossible que cap govern espanyol accepti concedir a Catalunya res remotament semblant a un concert econòmic. Per què?

  • Per a justificar el concert econòmic per a Catalunya el govern espanyol hauria de reconèixer davant l’opinió pública espanyola que en realitat el que volen els catalans és just i que Catalunya ha estat qui més ha contribuït a l’estat espanyol des de fa una pila d’anys. Que és just que Catalunya deixi de contribuïr a la solidaritat amb altres territoris ara que Espanya és un país equiparable als més rics del món. Això després de 30 anys d’atiar l’odi contra Catalunya és impossible.
  • Donar a Catalunya el mateix tracte fiscal que el País Basc causaria a curt termini un ajust dels serveis públics de què gaudeixen els espanyols mentre que la situació a Catalunya milloraria. Per als partits de govern espanyols és preferible la independència de Catalunya que pagar el cost polític d’aquesta operació. Després de la independència l’ajust a curt plaç arribaria igualment però ja s’inventarien alguna cosa per a no reconèixer que fins aleshores els serveis els pagava Catalunya. això sí, a mig i llarg termini Espanya se’n beneficiaria econòmicament i social tant del concert econòmic com de la independència de Catalunya.
  • El concert econòmic per a Catalunya impulsaria ràpidament demandes similars dels altres territoris espoliats, el País Valencià i les Illes Balears.
  • Per al PP la independència de Catalunya seria beneficiosa ja que significaria escombrar el PSOE durant molt de temps. Per al PSOE és impossible tonar a governar Espanya sense els vots catalans.
  • Una advertència sobre el “pacte fiscal” que proposa CiU. Qualsevol tipus de finançament que no sigui exactament el mateix de què gaudeixen les comunitats forals serà immediatament neutralitzat per alguna altra via per a continuar amb l’espoliació fiscal. Com ja s’ha demostrat amb els successius pactes fiscals dels últims 30 anys. Fa només uns dies l’economista Sala-i-Martín ens ho explicava. No importa quins canvis es facin al finançament de Catalunya, al final l’espoliació segueix constant any rere any.
  • La independència de Catalunya és preferible a mantenir-la dins l’estat espanyol sense poder-ne extreure recursos ja que Catalunya és increïblement molesta com a entitat nacional diferenciada per a un estat que vol ser homogeni culturalment.
  • Suposem que d’alguna manera Espanya concedeix a Catalunya el concert econòmic. A no ser que es fessin les coses molt malament aquesta esdevindria una altra vegada en pocs anys el principal pol econòmic de la península ibèrica en detriment de Madrid i això és un escenari intolerable per als espanyols, els quals s’ha passat 30 anys afavorint Madrid com a pol econòmic en detriment de Catalunya. A més, l’increment en qualitat de vida no faria sinó incrementar el desig d’independència de Catalunya i finalment el resultat seria el mateix.
  • Ara mateix ja tenim una majoria social àmpliament a favor de la independència. L’estratègia que segueix Espanya és contenir les aspiracions catalanes a través de l’estructura de l’estat, els jutges i les elits polítiques catalanes que fins ara estan fent el paper de contenció del moviment sobiranista (conscientment o no, això ho sabran ells) i utilitzar la immigració fins que Catalunya s’hagi empobrit tant i s’hagi assimilat tant que esdevingui una província castellana més i ja no hi hagi reivindicació identitària ni existeixi l’espoliació fiscal. Aquesta estratègia ja ens la va explicar fa uns mesos el President Pujol. Una vegada Catalunya estigui completament assimilada Espanya ja no podrà extreure’n més recursos però tampoc no hi haurà cap tipus de reivindicació identitària. En aquest escenari els espanyols hauran aconseguit un empobriment de l’estat espanyol però mantenen el territori conquerit. És trist però és la seva estratègia i objectiu, encara que comporti un empobriment general d’Espanya per sempre més.

We take your money, then we blame you for being broke (part 1)

We already knew that the PP was going to do exactly what they are doing. Which is more or less the same that the PSOE did, just more “in your face”. Blaming the autonomous communities for the excessive Spanish public debt, even though they only account for 20% of the Spanish debt and manage the most expensive responsibilities, like education, healthcare or police forces. As we already mentioned here.

On December 2011 the Spanish Government failed to pay Catalonia 759 million euros which were committed on the 2011 Spanish budget and put the Catalan finances on a dire situation. For a few days it was unclear whether the Generalitat would be able to pay its workers (police, doctors, teachers, etc.). The Generalitat solved this by borrowing money. This situation hasn’t replicated anywhere in Spain. To this we should add another pending payment of 1450 million euros from the “competitivity fund” which Spain failed to pay Catalonia also on 2011.

This had the twofold effect of transferring the public deficit from Spain to Catalonia making their numbers look better, and simultaneously putting Catalonia on the verge of insolvency. Then in a display of hipocrisy Spain told off the Generalitat for its excessive deficit and threatened an intervention.

Now the Spanish Government has announced that they are preparing a law according to which the Spanish Government will have to supervise and approve the Autonomous Communities’ budgets. This would essentially mean the end of Catalonia’s self-government since the budget would have to be approved by the Spanish PP then Catalonia would effectively cease to be governed by CiU, the elected party. In fact it remains unclear whether that would even allowed by the Spanish Constitution. Even though that would probably not stop them since the Spanish Judiciary system is systematically being used to attack Catalonia’s self-government (like here or here)

While the PP has a point in pointing out that the Spanish Autonomous Communities have spent too much money it is also true that the PP governs in most Spanish Autonomous Communities which puts the blame right back on themselves for the mess.

This all goes back to the late seventies. In the post Franco period Spain never liked the idea of giving Catalonia a differentiated status and so as to dilute Catalonia’s personality gave the same status to any Spanish region that requested it. Thus creating a new set of Autonomous Communities with their Parliaments, flags, anthems, governments in regions where there was never a claim for self-government. This created a new layer of bureocracy and a regional political subsystem which has proved to be a source of money wasting and corruption.

Now, behind all these so called economic measures is the aim to achieve political targets against Catalonia while at the same time Spain fails to tackle the root of the problem problem which is a bloated state structure which wastes its resources on a things like an army which costs 16500 million euros a year or building high speed trains to rural areas (in the midst of a severe crisis Spain is the second country in the world after China in amount of high speed train kilometers under construction), to name just a few.

Using Catalonia as a scapegoat and stir xenophobia is irresponsible and the Catalan Government should take immediate action to stop this situation for once and forever.

Spanish elections analysis

Yesterday’s Spanish elections showed a predictable result in Spain with the absolute majority of right wing Spanish nationalists PP and the also predictable collapse of PSOE due to their mistakes in managing the crisis. This shows a uniform blue painted Spain for the first time.

In the midst of the blue tide in the Spanish State only Catalonia and the Basque Country appear clearly politically differentiated. Catalan CiU have for the first time been the most voted party in Catalonia at the Spanish elections with 16 deputies. The most noticeable change has been PSOEs collapse going from 25 deputies to 14. PP with 11 hasn’t even achieded their best results from 1993.

On the other hand we have ERC-RCat. With 3 deputies (maybe 4) Bosch has done remarkably well in stopping the downwards spiral that had started in the last two elections and was threatening to leave them without any deputies according to polls from only two months ago. Instead, they have increased their representation and could even achieve one deputy for Girona, depending on the expat votes. This shows it was a mistake to not have Reagrupament’s Quim Torra be the candidate for Girona, as Junqueras wanted.

However, these results validate Junqueras’ change of direction and shows that ERC+RCat have the potential to become the core of a broad Catalan independentist coalition for the 2014 Catalan elections. An important date since it will be the 300 anniversary of the Spanish occupation in Catalonia.

Also good news is that Catalan left wing ecologists ICV have trebled their representation and now have 3 deputies. Meaning that Spanish parties, which traditionally dominated the Spanish elections in Catalonia, with 25 deputies are quickly losing ground to Catalan parties with 21 deputies.

In the Valencian Country for the first time Coalició Compromís has managed to break the dominance of the Spanish parties and the Valencian voice will be heard in the Spanish Congreso.

In Euskadi the abertzale coalition Amaiur have achieved historical results and have become the most voted party. This hints the possibility that in the next Basque elections Basque parties could concentrate the great majority of the votes which could potentially trigger serious political changes in that country.

The clear differences in the results in Catalonia and the Basque Country with Spain question the legitimacy of any of Spain’s predictable future attacks to Catalonia’s self government, culture and institutions. A desperate Spanish State with undermined political and economic independence by the severe measures that Europe will impose will turn to Catalonia’s self-government as a scapegoat. Hopefully, with a lot of work and a bit of luck these may be the last Spanish elections for Catalonia.

In the meantime, even though they are two very different situations in Catalonia we have some lessons to learn from the Basques. Until April it was them who looked towards Catalonia because of the popular referendums of independence but after the successes of Bildu in May and now Amaiur they seem to have found a way to translate the popular demand for independence into a political representation in a way that Catalan parties have failed to do.

Update: Syniadau have written an excellent analysis of the Spanish elections results. I recommend it.

Pictures by El Punt Avui

Per què he votat ERC-RCat-CatSí

Per si a algú li pot interessar avui estic content. Estic content perquè ja he enviat el meu vot, ja que sóc resident a l’estranger i ho he pogut fer a una llista que de fet m’agrada, em sembla que abans només m’havia passat una vegada.

Després de tot el que ha passat amb els partits independentistes els últims anys finalment es veuen brots verds. ERC i Reagrupament concorren junts a unes eleccions i per mi la presència de Reagrupament és la garantia que aquesta vegada per a ERC la independència no és un objectiu secundari i es posa la llavor per a una gran coalició independentista en un futur proper.

Vaig ser molt crític amb ERC al passat i puc entendre que per a molta gent encara estan en fase de proves per a veure quina és la dimensió de la renovació. Però després de la davallada d’ERC a les últimes dues eleccions només un nom em venia al cap com a possible renovació: Junqueras. I va passar. Els militants ho han vist i l’anterior direcció s’ha fet a una banda sense crear més faccions i obrir nous conflictes.

En quant a en Junqueras ja fa temps que el seguia llegint amb interés sobre les seves iniciatives al Parlament Europeu i escoltant els seus discursos i no només vaig descobrir algú que coneix profundament la història del seu país sinó es va guanyar la meva confiança per pensar que ho intentarà amb totes les seves forces. I no acaba aquí, no només en Junqueras ara és al capdavant d’ERC sinó que a sobre tenim com a candidat a Madrid a l’Alfred Bosch i per no parlar de pesos pesants com en Carretero donant un cop de mà a la campanya.

Per altra banda, no he pogut trobar motius per a votar CiU, no només no m’agrada que fins ara després que l’any passat fessin una campanya centrada en l’eix nacional i el concert fiscal una vegada al govern només s’han concentrat en les retallades sense fer cap tipus de pedagogia sobre l’espoliació, semblen no tenir més idees que retallar i retallar, vacil·len en la defensa del país davant dels constants atacs d’Espanya, el concert fiscal va passar a dir-se “pacte fiscal” i no semblen tenir cap projecte de reconstrucció nacional.

I centrant-nos més en en Duran. El candidat al Congreso és anacrònic, porta més de 30 anys dedicant-se a la política de forma professional i està totalment amortitzat. Diu que no vol la independència del seu país, i defensa orgullosament que va actuar amb “sentit d’estat” (espanyol, s’entén) salvant-lo repetidament d’una intervenció europea. Encara que aquest sigui el mateix estat que perpetra l’espoliació fiscal, es carrega l’estatut votat en referèndum, tomba la immersió lingüística, bloqueja l’oficialitat del català a Europa, actua contra els nostres interessos estratègics, com el corredor mediterrani o els aeroports, instiga el racisme anticatalà o fa broma sobre bombardejar Barcelona, entre moltes altres coses.

Quan el centre polític del país s’ha mogut massivament cap a posicions independentistes no podem tenim a un aferrissat defensor de l’estat espanyol al capdavant d’un partit català a Madrid. Penso que no votar Duran és facilitar la renovació de CiU i l’acostament d’aquesta cap a posicions sobiranistes. Que en Duran hagi estat repetidament el polític més ben valorat pels espanyols és senyal que no fa la seva feina.

D’altra banda l’Alfred Bosch m’agrada, i m’agrada perquè no és un polític professional, perquè està fent una campanya excel·lent en clau positiva i dirigida als catalans i a aquests es dirigirà des de Madrid amb l’altaveu li donarem. M’agrada que per fi una coalició catalana hagi decidit que no vol canviar Espanya, que només vol començar a preparar el divorci. Recomano aquesta entrevista a l’Alfred Bosch a l’Àgora de TV3.

I mentrestant s’haurà de pressionar a CiU per negociar la independència fiscal (a la qual no hem de tenir por ja que no faria més que augmentar les ganes d’independència, com a Euskadi i Navarra) i quan no s’aconsegueixi estendre-li la mà i ajudar-la en el seu camí cap a la construcció d’un estat català.

Madrid és un altaveu que no hem de desaprofitar ja que tots els corresponsals estrangers llegeixen la premsa espanyola, de la qual tots en coneixem la seva qualitat i que per tant tenen una idea molt esbiaixada de la realitat a Catalunya. Per desgràcia en la majoria de casos aquests corresponsals repeteixen tal qual als mitjans internacionals allò que llegeixen i escolten allà.

Necessitem una veu com la de Bosch a Madrid. S’apropen temps difícils i cal que els catalans tinguem una veu clara, valenta i el més forta possible per a tirar endavant el gran repte de la nostra generació, crear l’estat català. El moment decisiu s’apropa.

The Municipalities lobby for Catalonia’s independence

Vic’s Town Hall approved last month creating the “Associació de municipis per la independència” (Association of Municipalities for the Independence) led by the mayor of Vic, Josep Maria Vila d’Abadal. I’ve been following this initiative for a while but haven’t mentioned it so far but that it’s starting to take shape it’s worth talking about it.

This is the first time that an initiative explicitly created to advance towards Catalonia’s independence comes from an official institution and the target is to create a network of municipalities to lobby for the independence of Catalonia with the aim at organising a referendum of independence in the future.

Through Nació Digital I learn that Vila d’abadal is planning to hold an assembly with representatives of all the members at the end of November. They calculate by then about 100 municipalities will have joined the initiative by then. They expect around 300 municipalities to join eventually (Catalonia has 946 municipalities)

Vila d’Abadal is one of the potential candidates to substitute Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida in the future as the leader of Unió Democràtica de Catalunya. Duran i Lleida has a very marked pro Spanish and anti Independence profile which in the light of a pro independence majority in Catalonia fails to represent a central position in Catalan politics.

We’ll keep track of this initiative that I believe has a lot of potential to contribute to exercise Catalonia’s right of selfdetermination.

Below, the map of Municipalities which have already joined this initiative.

Mostra Municipis per la Independència en un mapa més gran

Photo by Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya

Spanish Constitutional amendment aimed against Catalonia’s self-government

Spanish parties PP and PSOE have agreed, practically overnight and in secrecy, to do what they had fiercely opposed for 30 years every time anyone suggested: to amend the Spanish Constitution.

The current Spanish Constitution was written after 40 years of a fascist dictatorship and with the army overlooking the whole process it contains many totalitarian articles (like article 8, which allows military action against secession attempts) and intentionally overlooks the national diversity inside the Spanish state.

Every time is was suggested that it should be updated to acknowledge the different nations inside the Spanish State, the right of self determination, or the reorganization of the Spain as a federal state the Spanish replied that their Constitution is sacred and can’t be changed. To illustrate this, Spanish parties call themselves “Constitutionalists” instead of simply Spanish nationalists.

But now the PP and PSOE have decided to make a change to it to limit the public deficit. They have done this without a previous debate, leaving aside all other parties in the Spanish Parliament (the Catalan and Basque ones, for instance) and without the mandatory referendum with the excuse that they need to do it urgently to inspire confidence to the markets following France and Germany’s advice.

The problem with this amendment is the way it will limit the Catalan Government. In countries like Germany where similar laws exist there is also a fiscal deficit limitation, which limits also the transfer of wealth from richer to poorer areas. Not so in Spain, effectively limiting the indebtment that Catalonia can take but not limiting consequently its fiscal deficit with other Autonomous Communities (which is now a whopping 10%) therefore adding an unsustainable pressure to Catalan finances. The Generalitat already has to take care with the most expensive public services of the state like healthcare, education or police. PP and PSOE have of course ignored CiU’s requests to include a clause to limit the fiscal deficit. To this, even CiU, still shocked, has warned of a clash of unforeseeable consequences. I am quite skeptical.

So this reform has proven a few points:

  1. that the Spanish Constitution can be modified, it is not as sacred as the Spanish had made us believe
  2. in any changes to the Spanish Constitution the Spanish nationalists will use their majority to impose their decision over the other nations in the state
  3. any changes will be aimed at weakening Catalan self government
  4. skipping the referendum and blatantly ignoring the society is the latest display lack of democratic culture in Spain

By refusing to debate this reform and by pushing it without the support of the other parties PP and PSOE have broken whatever was left of the Spanish Constitutional “deal” therefore morally freeing Catalan parties, like CiU, which had originally agreed to it, to act outside of it. Catalonia must recover its Constitution.

Picture by Gustavo Bravo