03.01.2014 - 06:00
The former member of the Socialists’ Party of Catalonia and ex-councilor from Sant Feliu de Guíxols, José Antonio Donaire (Twitter), published a list on his blog in which he explains why Catalonia will become independent. Donaire, who quit the party less than a year ago, gives ten reasons that lead him to believe that independence is inevitable.
1. ‘A few years ago, it was the independentists who doubted and the unionists who didn’t. The former group dreamt of a possibility that they thought was improbable and the later had settled themselves in the security and certainty that theirs was the only way possible. Today it is the independentists who are sure, and the unionists who doubt…’
2. ‘The pro-independence movement has attracted all the smart people in the country. University professors, economists, journalists, professionals, and the urban middle class are all openly pro-independence.’
3. ‘Despite the outside opinion, the process has been clearly bottom-up. It is not a plan dictated from the Palace of the Catalan Government, but rather a grass-roots citizen-led movement that has exploded after a state of latency.’
4. ‘The Pro-Indy movement has used social media very skillfully. It has occupied the space in a very natural way, it creates strong ties and thick connections of common interests, and shares viral stories, pro-independence arguments, and criticism.’
5. ‘Catalanism is mainstream. Farmers, middle class, shopkeepers, the unemployed, Pérez, Pujol, Martínez, Puig, Hassan, anti-system radicals, conservative neo-liberals, social-democrats, demo-Christians…’
6. ‘Television and the schools have indeed participated in this process. Both have been aligned in this direction for a long time. Like all schools and televisions across the world, they have a story to tell…’
7. ‘One section of the independentists accept the story of “El Dorado”: everything will be wonderful after November 9th. But the majority are well aware of the obstacles. Even the most militant admits that the transition may be rocky and not just a few admit that Catalonia might not be European…’
8. ‘There is no Plan B. The pressure of the other autonomous communities, the absence of a state agreement, the electoral cache of anti-catalanism, and the electoral cost of pro-catalanism make unfeasible the only possible solution: a reply like David Cameron’s…’
9. ‘Spain’s brand has gone out of fashion. It is Power Balance, Windows, Monsanto, Lehman Brothers, the dentist who recommends sugared gum, the “relaxing café con leche” and the “Ma-to” of Belén Esteban…’
10. ‘I’m terrible at predictions. And I’m almost always wrong. But I don’t see the smallest possible chance of changing a done deal: forbidden referendum —> plebescite election —> overwhelming victory of the Yes Coalition —> Unilateral Declaration of Independence. And yes, the State will use Article 150 [of the Constitution] and will inhabilitate the President. But international pressure and popular pressure will make such a situation unsustainable.’
