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"O governo espanhol está a fazer tudo tão errado que
até parece que deseja garantir a independência da Catalunha. Não há melhor
forma de fomentar o independentismo entre os catalães do que proibi-los de
votar num referendo."
A questão catalã é para levar a sério
Não se compreende bem é
a ausência de debate sobre Espanha na sociedade portuguesa. A questão catalã
veio para ficar.
Rui Tavares
11 de setembro de 2017, 5:26
Hoje, 11 de setembro, é previsível que centenas de milhares
de catalães saiam às ruas como fazem todos os anos na jornada a que chamam
“Diada”. Trata-se da comemoração de uma derrota: aquela que, em 1714, encerrou
por séculos a questão da independência da Catalunha, no fim da Guerra da
Sucessão espanhola.
O que poucos portugueses sabem é que essa data marca também
o fim da intervenção de Portugal nas questões nacionais de Espanha. Sim, nessa
guerra em que Portugal participou aliado à Áustria (que apoiava, na prática, a
secessão da Catalunha), à Holanda e a Inglaterra, contra a França e a Espanha,
tropas portuguesas chegaram a ocupar Madrid em 1707 e a coroa portuguesa
revelava pretensões sobre a Galiza e a Extremadura espanhola. O Tratado de
Utrecht, de 1713, saldou-se por uma espécie de empate: o rei de Espanha viu-se
forçado a reconhecer o rei de Portugal como seu igual e a aceitar
definitivamente a independência portuguesa; pelo seu lado, Portugal abandonou
pretensões a terras espanholas no continente europeu (na América do Sul a
história foi diferente; e mesmo na Europa a história inverteu-se cem anos
depois, quando os espanhóis se aliaram a Napoleão em troca de metade de
Portugal e acabaram a “esquecer-se” de devolver Olivença após o Congresso de
Viena).
A decisão, por parte do Estado português, de se manter
afastado das querelas espanholas e das ambições independentistas das outras
nações históricas peninsulares é impecável e absolutamente sábia. Ninguém no
seu perfeito juízo pode sugerir que ela deva ser alterada. O que não se
compreende bem é a ausência de debate sobre Espanha na sociedade portuguesa,
mesmo quando a questão da independência da Catalunha é tema quotidiano no país
vizinho. Na nossa academia, tal como nas redações e no mundo cultural, parece
reinar a ideia (ou o preconceito) de que a questão catalã e as suas
consequências para a Península e para a Europa é um daqueles temas que dá para
ir empurrando com a barriga porque, na verdade, nunca chegará a uma “hora da
verdade”. Quando, há uns anos, se realizou uma consulta popular na Catalunha
sobre a independência, não faltaram editoriais a desvalorizar o caso e a dar
por encerrada a possibilidade de nascer um novo país no nosso espaço
geográfico. O mesmo ocorreu quando as listas independentistas ganharam as
eleições autonómicas. E o mesmo está para acontecer, por antecipação, em
relação ao referendo que o governo catalão quer realizar no dia 1 de outubro, e
que o governo espanhol quer impedir.
Pois bem, acordemos para a realidade: a questão da
independência da Catalunha é para levar muito a sério. Independentemente (passe
o trocadilho) de haver ou não referendo no próximo dia 1 de outubro.
Independentemente de, caso haja referendo, o governo espanhol pretender
inabilitar os governantes catalães para o exercício de cargos públicos.
Engana-se quem pensar que essa é uma ameaça para a qual os líderes catalães não
estejam preparados e cujas consequências não estejam dispostos a aceitar. Engana-se
ainda mais quem pensar que, por detrás desta geração de dirigentes catalães,
não há uma outra capaz de suceder-lhe e ainda mais firme na defesa do que
acreditam ser o seu direito a decidir.
Além de ser para levar a sério, a questão catalã veio para ficar.
Ela vai colocar-nos perguntas inevitáveis não só para a Península Ibérica como
sobretudo para a UE. Se os portugueses fossem um pouco menos discretos na forma
como a abordam, talvez finalmente alguém de muito próximo pudesse dizer a
verdade aos nossos amigos e irmãos espanhóis: o vosso governo está a fazer tudo
tão errado que até parece que deseja garantir a independência da Catalunha. Não
há melhor forma de fomentar o independentismo entre os catalães do que
proibi-los de votar num referendo.
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Why some Catalans want to break away from Spain
Politicians are cautious ahead of a disputed referendum.
That’s not the case out on the streets.
By DIEGO
TORRES 9/12/17, 4:10 AM CET Updated
9/12/17, 10:03 AM CET
Supporters of Catalan independence in Barcelona during the
2017 "La Diada" |
BARCELONA — With three weeks to go until a referendum called
to dissolve a 500-year-old political union, neither the Spanish nor the Catalan
governments are confronting head-on arguments about why Catalonia should secede
from or remain in Spain.
Instead, they are focusing on whether the Catalans have the
legal right to secede.
But that’s not the case in Barcelona, with many of those who
took to the streets on Monday for the Diada, Catalonia’s national day, happy to
talk about specific grievances that have pushed them toward independence.
Organizers said 450,000 people had registered to take part in the Diada, and
Barcelona police later tweeted that 1 million turned up.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, backed by a separatist
majority in the regional assembly, has vowed to go ahead with the vote on
October 1, which has been ruled illegal by Spain’s Constitutional Court.
However, Puigdemont and his Cabinet aren’t (publicly at least) shouting about a
future, independent Catalan state, rather focusing their campaign on allowing
citizens to decide their own future, not being dictated to by Madrid.
Catalonia has 16 percent of the country’s population and
generates 20 percent of its gross domestic product.
The Spanish government, meanwhile, is sticking to the legal
arguments, with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy saying he will do “whatever is
needed” to prevent the vote taking place.
Spain faces one of its gravest political crises in decades.
Many in the establishment wonder if the situation could lead to unrest in the
streets and ask how Rajoy will be able to prevent the vote without using
drastic measures — such as taking control of the regional government.
“I want a fair country, a more social and leftist country,
and I believe the best way to achieve that is leaving Spain,” said Marc Becat,
a 22-year-old who works in sales. “Spain has always looked to me … pretty
conservative, not only at the political level but also in terms of thinking.”
A number of legal obstacles stand in the way of Becat’s wish
coming true.
Judges are investigating Puigdemont and other officials on
charges related to the organization of the referendum that may result in prison
sentences. The public prosecutor has ordered the police to monitor activities
connected to the vote — a print shop and a newsroom have been raided in the
past few days, triggering public demonstrations. Hundreds of mayors in
Catalonia have defied court orders and offered their support for the vote,
although others, especially in the bigger cities, have refused to do so.
It’s the economy, stupid
Against this background of tension, however, there is little
political debate about the reasons that led a significant number of Catalans —
around 41 percent, according to the Catalan government-funded Centre d’Estudis
d’Opinió (CEO) — to be willing to break away from Spain.
Research by the CEO shows the reasons to be manifold, with
arguments including wanting increased autonomy (26 percent), the belief that
Catalonia would improve if it struck out on its own (23 percent) and the desire
for a new model for running a country (19 percent).
People wave “Estelades” (pro-independence flags) as they
gather during a demonstration celebrating the Catalan national day on September
11, 2017 in Barcelona | Sandra Montanez/Getty Images
Catalan unionist forces, as well as the Spanish government,
accuse the separatists of feeding the people with lies and a constant stream of
distorted facts aimed at reinforcing a Catalan sense of victimization at the
hands of Spaniards. They haven’t been able to fully combat those perceptions,
real or imaginary, on the ground.
Towering above all else is the economy. Catalonia has 16
percent of the country’s population and generates 20 percent of its gross
domestic product.
“All the money and all the taxes that flow to the Spanish
government will stay in [an independent] Catalonia,” said Ana Martí Benavente,
a 78-year-old Barcelona pensioner. “It’s like a son who wants to leave home but
is the one bringing in the money. And of course the parents don’t want him to
leave.”
“With the work in the industrial areas, the exports and the
Catalans’ personality, we could build a country where people would live better
than in Switzerland in some years,” said Gabriel Maestro, a 74-year-old
engineer.
Other separatists point to cultural differences and
perceived aggression from the central government.
“We believe we are different in Catalonia and we have rights
that are being walked over,” said Mari Angels Cubillo, a 47-year-old housewife.
“Most families with Catalan roots have never felt Spanish,”
added Roser Brustenga, a 62-year-old office worker, arguing that an independent
Catalonia would preserve its own language and culture, which “the current
government is trying to eliminate.”
“What we Catalans find surprising is how the international
community doesn’t react to the fact that we’re being prevented from voting” —
Marta Alsina, teacher
Language comes up again and again out on the streets. Most
people in Catalonia can speak Catalan and Spanish, both official languages.
Catalan is the main language in schools, but in recent years, courts have been
telling Catalan schools to provide lessons in Spanish if students demand it.
Secessionist supporters see that as an attack on a language in need of
protection.
Many supporters of an independent Catalan state can even
refer to specific quotes from Spanish officials that have offended them.
Marc Becat recalled the words of former Education Minister
José Ignacio Wert, who in 2012 said his aim was to “españolizar [make more
Spanish] Catalan children.”
Brustenga remembered a leaked conversation from 2016, in
which an official in the anti-fraud bureau boasted to a Spanish minister that
they had “destroyed [the Catalan] health system.”
Others are angry about the conservative government of
Rajoy’s Popular Party.
“It’s the Popular Party above all things, I hate them,
that’s it,” said Alex Fores, a 21-year-old engineering student. “They’re very
right-wing and obviously if you look at what people vote here [in Catalonia]
it’s a completely different ideology.” Catalonia is ruled by a pro-independence
coalition led by one center-right party and one center-left one.
While many demonstrators on Monday seemed convinced that
they will be able to cast a vote on October 1, they were aware that it hangs in
the balance.
“What we Catalans find surprising is how the international
community doesn’t react to the fact that we’re being prevented from voting,”
said Marta Alsina, a 46-year-old teacher.
“I’m hopeful that things will change from October 2, even if
the referendum doesn’t take place,” said Josep Maria Alventosa, a 70-year-old
architect.
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