It seems that what's happening in Catalonia these days is something new and unexpected, something that escapes the immediate comprehension of most people. The media and political circus have seized the opportunity to address the issue, never before addressed outside of Iberia, superficially and as if it were a new episode, a hoax, or a whim.
Identity and belonging
The crux of the matter can be identified as the sense of belonging to a nation, defined as a community where characteristic and shared customs exist and persist, such as language , history , traditions , and culture , as well as a government and a geographical identity . The concept of nation can embrace or contrast that of state, understood as a legal system that dominates and dominates all subjects living within it. An entity understood as the holder of political and administrative structures and that holds sovereign power over the territory within established geographical boundaries.
Imagined communities
It is appropriate at this point to cite the studies and theories of Benedict Anderson , an Irish sociologist with a background in political philosophy, who introduces the concept of imagined communities . In his essay " Imaginated Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism ," the author, starting from inter-ethnic conflicts in the wars between Vietnam and Cambodia, and between Vietnam and China, defines the nation not as a natural entity pre-existing social dynamics, but rather as the product of cultural and conceptual processes, the production of symbols and traditions, as well as the creation of a collective memory and shared memories. Anderson then highlights the process of social and anthropological construction , whether it originates from artificial or spontaneous/random components, identifying the overlapping of languages as the crux of the matter. The need to acquire this key to understanding becomes essential when interpreting a phenomenon like that of Catalan.
Referendum
The request and declaration of independence It is not the result of senseless nationalism but, on the contrary, it is the response to it. First of all, the Catalan independence referendum was a masterly example of democracy, where the people, across all political parties, promoted and participated en masse in the vote. Fearing the brutal repression promised and delivered by the Spanish central government, protests were set up at the polls to prevent attacks by the central police. The central government, for the occasion, deployed thousands of police officers. National Police and Civil Guard (Guardia Civil), paramilitary body created by the dictator Franco and which, after the democratic transition, is banned from Catalan territory (Catalonia will create a separate police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra). During the demonstrations and the vote, some Catalan deputies and local political representatives were also arrested. Mariano Rajoy and of the king Felipe VI, the threats against the organizers of the referendum and against the leaders of the autonomous police force (the latter did not obey the central government) are getting worse for the summons to trial for the crimes of incitement e betrayal.
The Spanish repression
The images recorded by cameras inside and outside the polling stations (recording police officers is punishable by fines or prison) clearly show the barbarity committed by police forces still loyal to the Franco cult, dragging, beating, and abusing mostly elderly people and women. A group of British observers has declared that they will hand over the collected material to the tribunal in The Hague, in order to denounce the violation of human rights . Regarding the methodology and dominant ideology, it should be emphasized that fascism in Spain has never been condemned, that there are no crimes of apologia for fascism, nor are its symbols and manifestations prohibited. The former hierarchs and regents were not expelled from Spanish society; on the contrary, they were active members of the post-dictatorship phase known as the Transition , later going on to hold prestigious and important roles within political and economic institutions.
Traumas in collective memory
Catalonia, like other regions of the Iberian Peninsula, was the scene of the Spanish Civil War. Some of the most serious war crimes and the most exacerbated conflicts were committed there. The resistance was led by the anarchist movements, very numerous and influential, from communist movements and by international brigadesWith the end of the civil war and the rise to power of fascism and General Franco, the Catalan language was banned and punished with prison, while the resistance was persecuted. Very few survived; dissidents were shot or imprisoned. Mass rapes were carried out on the population. Those who attempted to escape to France across the Pyrenees were shot in the back by machine guns and snipers just steps from the border. Among them were the greatest Spanish thinkers and artists of the 20th century. All this serves to reiterate the concept of the collective memory that was formed there, a collective memory marked by repression in the modern era and subsequently in the contemporary era.
The national feeling
Over the past fifteen years, following the political repression of Catalan independence activists and the exploitation of local resources and businesses, pro-independence sentiment itself has grown from 13,6% to 29% in 2012, reaching 45% in 2014, with the government refusing to reassess the tax burden/investment ratio in the region. Given this trend, it's reasonable to assume that after the invasion by central government police forces, a traumatic reminder of the civil war, this sentiment has grown considerably, also considering the approximately 800 injured during the clashes. The Catalan Independence Manifesto calls for the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic, autonomous government, self-management of resources and the tax system, high standards of social policies, recognition of the Catalan language, and the revision and abolition of laws inspired by the old Francoist models. Nothing improvised, therefore, and no caprice. For further information, please see the link below, a short 8-minute documentary on the Catalan question in Spanish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy7yJpHK8Tw
René Verneau
