Catalans Have the Right to Democracy

Some weeks ago the Parliament of Catalonia pronounced itself about the events that have shaken the Catalan society in the recent months. In fact, everything changed with the Spanish Constitutional Court 2010 sentence which closed the door to Catalonia being an equal partner in Spain.

The September 11 demonstration and the events that happened as a result of that sentence made it clear that the country as a whole and the parliament would adopt a definite stance on the issues after the election. The election results leave no doubt that there is a clear majority in favor of independence in Catalonia. And all the polls show an overwhelming majority in favor of going ahead with a referendum. Between 70% and 80% of Catalans want to be able to vote about this.

Catalan President Mas suggested that the question should be, “Do you want Catalonia to become a new state within the EU?” Ideally, the referendum could happen in 2014. Why not make it coincide with Scotland's referendum? Two possible new European states in one sitting.

But the point is that Spain does not want Catalonia to decide for itself. Unlike Québec or Scotland, Spain are not willing to let us decide for ourselves. They do not understand that when one becomes an adult, they can decide whether or not to stay home. Both the Spanish constitutional court and the major parties—PP and the PSOE—are clear about this: there is only one political entity, "all sovereignty belongs to the people of Spain."

The question then, is whether or not to accept a legislative framework that offers no alternatives. Catalan socialists are still struggling for the impossible. They still believe naively that the Spanish political class would accept this change and adapt their laws so that Catalonia can hold a referendum—but Spain has already said clearly they would not allow this.

For humans to advance in the area of human rights, sometimes we need to break away from established but unfair laws. Some examples of this are women suffragists, the independence of the colonies from England or Spain,  or black slaves, or those ones who established the American Revolution or the first French Republic, those who made the Berlin Wall fall, and South Africa's case. They all had to bypass laws they considered unfair. And that's the way it will happen in Catalonia this week. Emancipation works through disobedience, especially when parents refuse to even have a conversation.

This is what we are voting in Parliament, the Declaration of Sovereignty is whether the Catalans have the democratic right to exist as a nation.

Marc Monells