It seems as if every day in October we have seen another independentist demonstration in Barcelona. The first major one was on October 11, which marks the National Day of Catalonia, known as La Dirada. Every year, millions of Catalonian nationalists fill the streets of Barcelona, marching with the Catalonian flag for freedom from Spain. The march is primarily for awareness of the independentist cause, and recently, particularly in protest of the imprisonment of the Catalonian government officials following the October 1, 2017 referendum. This past week, Barcelona has seen numerous protests against the jail sentences that were released on October 14 for the Catalonian leaders. Unlike those of La Dirada, these protests have been much more violent. Most nights this week, nationalists have blocked crosswalks in central areas with trashcans and lit them on fire. It took a while for the police and firemen to come because many of them are Catalan and support the independentist cause. On the day of the sentences, large groups of independentists blocked the entrances to the airport so that it had to shut down.
Prior to coming to Spain, I had never seen political protests of this size. In a sense, it can be viewed as admirable that the Catalonian independentists are so passionate about politics, but it can also be a nuisance for the city. One of my professors said that he thought one of the main reasons for so much political turmoil in Spain—a country that has seen four elections in four years and recently moved from a two to five party system—was its youth as a democracy, having emerged from the Franco years relatively recently (in 1975). In the United States, we think of democracy as an innate part of our culture and more rarely try to subvert the democratic system through referendums or uprisings.
The Catalonian independence movement can be likened to other separatist movements such as Brexit. To provide some background, Catalonia, which includes Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona, has been fighting for independence since 1922. Conflict arose over historical land ties and now focuses especially on economics and cultural differences—for instance, Catalonia recognizes both Catalan and Spanish as official languages. The greatest tipping point was on October 1, 2017 when the independence referendum was held. While 92% of voters voted “yes” to independence, the vote failed to count as legitimate according to Spain’s central government in Madrid and only saw a 42% participation rate. Interestingly, the 58% who did not vote were predominantly against independence, but abstained from voting, counting the endeavor as absurd. I find the high abstention rate interesting because it reminds me of Brexit in the sense that initially, few thought that the UK would even contemplate leaving the EU.
I find the Catalonian independence mission and the change of politics in Spain to be relevant because it reflects major changes in politics we are seeing worldwide, such as Trump in the US, Brexit in the UK, and Italy's new EU-friendly, leftist government. What would happen if Catalonia followed in the UK’s footsteps and actually tried to leave the EU? There has been such polarization in politics as well as a robust proliferation of specialized parties and candidates that cater to highly specific and sometimes extreme demands. Trusted aspects of society like open borders, liberal market economies, and political unions are becoming increasingly scrutinized due to increasing globality, inequality, and technological capabilities. As our world becomes increasingly complex, I wonder whether these conflicts, and the current questioning of these established institutions, will take us further backwards or forwards in history.
Katharina Petermann (B'21) graduated from the McDonough School of Business in 2021 with a major in finance. During the fall 2019 semester, Katharina studied in Barcelona, Spain, at the ESADE Business School, sharing her experiences living in a new culture through the Junior Year Abroad Network.
