The Catalan nationalists are planning some fun and games for Friday 21st December. Please see this long THREAD for a guide for foreign media to avoid being playing for a fool.
(1) Catalonia is a deeply divided society. Any sentence that begins with the words “The Catalans…” is very likely to be misleading.
The Catalan nationalists claim to speak for the Catalan nation, but let’s crunch some numbers. Their best-ever result was 2.08m votes across three parties a year ago (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Cata…).
That vote represented 47.5% of the votes (4.39m). It was also 37.4% of the electorate of 5.54m and 30% of the population of 7.44m (foreign residents can’t vote).
These are big numbers, yes, but they represent a significant minority rather than a majority. The nationalists do not talk for all Catalans.
If you mention the illegal pseduo-referendum in October 17, where 2.04m votes were cast for independendence, it is meaningless to mention the 97% result unless you also mention the 43% turnout.
(2) Catalan nationalists have a very skewed idea of the political spectrum. They try to sell the idea that nationalism is progressive and anything or anyone that stands in their way is by definition far-right.
The idea that nationalism is progressive is deeply questionable. The movement’s slogan for a long time – “Espanya ens roba” – implies that the region wants to end solidarity with poorer parts of Spain.
The only European parties to support the movement are from the far-right, such as Vlaams Belang from the Flemish region of Belgium.
The nationalists will try to tell you that Ciudadanos (a liberal centrist party that is in ALDE with the LibDems) are *really* fascists. Be skeptical!
(3) There is a conspiracy theory at the heart of the nationalist narrative. The nationalists will try to tell you that Spain is a fascist state.
In fact, Spain is a full democracy. Check out the Economist Intelligence Unit: infographics.economist.com/2018/Democracy… Also, Freedom House: freedomhouse.org/report/freedom…
The constitutionalists defend liberal democracy as it actually is. The nationalists want to impose iliberal direct democracy, with minimal protection for dissenters.
(4) Be very careful when you write about the police. Spain has several police forces. The Mossos, the Catalan police, are run by the regional government.
The Mossos have a track record of acting politically, picking and choosing which laws to obey. Here is some background: bbc.com/news/world-eur…
The nationalist politicians are likely to tell the Mossos to let protesters get on with it. If they do, the national police will have to step into the brink.
(5) If any of the clashes, turn violent, expect a flood of fake news, lies and manipulations from the nationalists. This article from the late Peter Preston is worth reading: theguardian.com/world/2017/oct…
(6) The demonstrations are planned for 21st December because Spain’s Council of Ministers (equivalent to Cabinet) is meeting in Barcelona on that day.
Although the radical separatists will try to disrupt the meeting, it is worth remembering that the decision to hold the meeting in Barcelona was originally intended as a goodwill gesture.
(7) You might feel your heart stirring as you see protesters stand up to the police. If that happens, I strongly suggest you read Orwell’s essay on nationalism: orwell.ru/library/essays…
Pay particular attention to the section on transferred nationalism. Are you guilty of it?
Finally, if any Catalan nationalists with an allergy to criticism want to repeat slogans in the comments, please introduce yourself with your real name first.
