Spain is strongly limiting growth and development opportunities for the people living in Catalonia, both at the individual and collective level. We will try to summarize the most relevant issues involved in this situation. Here are the facts ad the figures.
Taxation deficit
A taxation deficit occurs in a particular territory when taxes raised and collected within this area overcome the investments carried out by the State in the same territory. Since 1986, Catalonia has suffered a taxation deficit of 286,000 million €. This means it has delivered this amount to the Spanish State without receiving any investment in return.
Therefore, Catalan companies and workers suffer from lower employment rates and purchasing power, less wealth created and lost competitiveness. Several economic studies have concluded that over 300,000 jobs would have been created if the Spanish State had carried out its investments according to the previously mentioned figure. These jobs are nowadays located elsewhere outside Catalonia.
Mediterranean Rail Corridor
This rail infrastructure connects Andalusia, Murcia, Valencia and Catalonia to Europe. These regions generate 40% of the state’s overall wealth and host the same proportion in population. This corridor would considerably decrease transportation costs and consequently reduce time and energy resources. It would also agilize access to Europe for Catalan companies and products, it would increase their competitiveness, and promote new opportunities. The various Spanish governments, rather than investing in such infrastructure, have prioritized the construction of highways and AVE (high-speed-trains) which are, in turn, not sustainable due to their low economic output and performance. In addition, the central government's plan is, in opposition to the EU, to build this rail corridor via Madrid and connect it to Europe through an enormous giant tunnel to be digged in the central Pyrenees. The target of such strategy is clear: to keep Catalonia isolated from the main European transportation networks.
Barcelona Airport
Multinational companies, congresses, and fairs choose their location according to ease of connection. Barcelona has repeatedly demanded its airport to become an international connection hub in order to attract foreign investment, tourism, and all kinds of events. All Spanish governments have consistently prevented Barcelona from competing against Madrid’s airport, resulting in an increasingly growing number of foreign companies settling down in Madrid (85% in 2011). Consequently, Catalonia is progressively being isolated from major intercontinental air routes, losing its attractiveness to investors, which, in turn, results in less occupation and economic activity.
Port of Barcelona
This harbor is of vital importance for the development and growth of Catalonia, along with other infrastructures such as airports, highways, and rail systems. The Catalan Government has invested greatly to develop so that it becomes the gateway to Europe for maritime transport arriving from Asia. However, constraints on permits and, in general, the overt lack of investment willingness by the Spanish State have brought this project to a standstill. The strategy is clear and conspicuous: enhance the port of Valencia as Madrid's connection to the sea and, at the same time, undermine the potential of the port of Barcelona. Since 2006, the government committed to invest on transportation networks around the port, but still none has materialized. In addition, all operations in the port of Barcelona are taxed (rate per kg). This situation is not applied in any other Spanish ports, and it handicaps even further Catalan companies.
AENA - Spanair
The centralized Spanish airport system is conceived to turn Madrid into Spain's economic capital, leaving Barcelona's airport as a simple secondary and "feeding" infrastructure. Only Spain and Romania currently maintain such centralized systems while major airports worldwide have their own management capacity. The Spanish State has boycotted the launch of Spanair, preventing Barcelona to become an international hub capable of competing against Madrid. In 2011, 900,000 passengers had to pass-by (or were forced to fly to Madrid) in order to arrive to Barcelona. Barcelona is already called as "the dry port."
Highways
Catalonia and its people have been forced for ages to pay toll when driving on highways. The succession of concession extensions to private companies is endless. The extension of the concession passed by law in 2012 helped funding free highways all over the rest of the Spain and, more recently, has served to wipe out losses in Madrid's highways (above € 200 million), which, in turn, will be paid by extending private concessions in Catalonia. The construction of free motorways all over the rest of Spain is continuously growing. In the past years, only 20 km have been built in Catalonia, compared to more than 600 km in Madrid.
Greater Barcelona rail system
An agreement was signed some years ago to improve wiring systems, security measures, platforms, etc. of the rail systems in metropolitan and surrounding areas in both Madrid and Barcelona. The allocated budgets were 6,000 and 4,500 million € respectively. Madrid's budget and works execution has been fully met (100%) whereas Barcelona has only met 15% of what was budgeted. Incidents such as brake failure, delays, accidents, etc. happen on a daily basis in Barcelona. The Catalan traveler's security is not an issue. While the AVE (high-speed-train) will soon connect to the new T4 terminal in Madrid's airport, this connection is being denied in Barcelona on a regular basis. On top of this, the construction of the AVE line Madrid-Galicia and the Madrid-Portugal border (the Portuguese Government has already confirmed it will not build any connection) goes on with an expected investment of 28,000 million €.
N-II Girona
Also known as Road of Death, it accounts 15 to 20 deaths per year. Back in 2006 it was agreed to double its capacity in order to carry up to 30,000 vehicles per day. Those construction works are not finished yet and the current Spanish government has recently cancelled any further construction. Landowners have not received any compensation either. While Spain is full of free highways, drivers in Girona put their life on stake every day. Thanks Spain.
Infrastructure
According to the Additional Provision 3bis in the recently passed Catalan Statute of Autonomy, the governments of Spain and Catalonia agreed that investment in infrastructures in Catalonia should equal the generated GDP. Reality shows that it only reaches 67% on average whilst it has always been around 110% in Madrid. That is, every third year is lost in terms of investment and the Spanish State saves the funds from that year's investments. In 2011 only 35% of the infrastructure budget materialized. This investment decrease seriously damages our businesses and condemns our economy to lower competitiveness.
Student Scholarships
Catalonia accounts for 16% of the population. However, Catalan students receive just 8% of the total allocated grants by the Education Ministry. In turn, Madrid gets 58%. Is it fair to influence on the youth's development opportunities depending on the place of birth?
Foreign Investment
Companies having their headquarters located in Madrid obtain 85% of all official subsidies and funds while those based in Catalonia only receive 5% of the total. No comments. This is just another example of plunder and unfair treatment to bear in mind.
Constitution Act - Art. 8th
None of the western democracies consider armed supervision of its political power except in Spain where the Spanish Constitution supports it. This article is a latent threat to all democratic people. For those who don't know it, article 8 of the Spanish constitution grants the army the powers to intervene should a region choose to secede.
Catalan Statute of Autonomy judgment and ruling
How can a court cancel or modify any fundamental law if it is up to the people who have made good such deal with their votes? This court sets itself automatically as a political tool. This politicized court is not competent to cancel or modify any law enacted and passed by a referendum. The only desire behind such judgment and ruling can only be to stop Catalan ambitions. We have lost trust on this body, it does not generate any confidence. It only guarantees the centralized power.
Fiscal Balances
Catalonia has insisted over and over again in the obligation to inform all citizens on the distribution of taxes paid by all. Finally, these figures were published in 2005 and show a 286,000 million € accumulated deficit (1986-2009), taxes that the Catalans paid without getting anything back. Moreover, ever since 2005 these data have not been published any longer, which contradicts the law that was passed to ensure its publication. In 2009 the personal contribution per inhabitant in Catalonia (regardless of age) was 2,251 € per year. Therefore, a 4 member family contributed 9,004 € without receiving anything in return. Consequently, the same family has contributed 179,740 € in total between 1986 and 2009, which is equivalent to a 2-bedroom apartment.
Endesa case
We should not forget all the cheating, deceptions and falsehoods that were thrown around by the centralist parties in Madrid against the takeover of this company by Gas Natural. The central government mobilized all its resources to prevent Endesa to be controlled by a Catalan company. It should always be remembered the sentence that was used for this: "We'd rather be German than Catalan," which in the end turned out to become "Italian before Catalan" but still with its headquarters located in Madrid. Ironically, 60% of its customers are Catalans which shows that being in Spain does not imply any particular advantage.
Violence
All different Spanish governments have always argued that all kinds of negotiations should take place in peaceful, democratic conditions—without any threat of violence involved. Now that 83% of Catalans are peacefully and democratically requesting a referendum, the answer is that it is not legal. There will always be an excuse against Catalonia. As a matter of fact, this referendum is indeed legal as it is stated in the Spanish Constitution Art. 92 in the following terms: it is called by the King after a proposal by the Primer Minister, previously authorized by the Congress. This way they manage to keep any majority silent. Long live democracy!
These are facts that cannot be disregarded. The different Spanish centralist governments want Catalonia to be a slave of their centralism, preventing harbors, airports and railways to be internationally connected, thereafter reducing its competitiveness and so to stifle its economy and submit Catalonia to its power. Catalonia is the enemy and is a threat at the same time. The target is to keep Catalans away from main communication hubs, for goods, people and knowledge. Indiscriminate investments elsewhere are performed only for the sole purpose of attracting votes that keep rulers in power.
Threats are the only argument against the democratic demands by the Catalan people. The majority of its inhabitants are fed up with this situation. There is no other way than to take our own path if we do not want our individual and collective future to be threatened. Spain's strategy is very clear: to strengthen Madrid's power at the expense of Catalonia, removing its economical power so as to eliminate its political power. All Spanish governments have had in their hands the chance and the tools (political, economical, financial and legal) to modernize the country. They all have been unable to do so and their incompetence has been demonstrated. Their models have always failed. Nobody values the what Spain has to offer to the world anymore. Here is the result of their policies: five million unemployed, thousands of bankrupt companies, thousands of families have lost their home and are drowning in debt, welfare state cuts, young people looking for a job abroad, retirement pensions at risk. These figures can not be manipulated nor hidden. Spain stands for unemployment, everyone knows about it, being always on the top of the highest unemployment rate per country lists. Unfortunately, reality is harsh.
Constant and repeated breaches of agreements and manipulations have ended the patience of many people who, in turn, have come to the conclusion that there is only one way out of this situation: independence.
We want to be independent in order to build a modern, prosperous and fair country, full of opportunities for all who live in it. It is not a project born out of greed (many Spaniards conveniently cling on to the cliché that Catalans are greedy), it is a project to improve our lives as a community for the future.
