- Title: SPAIN: POLITICS - Independence fever dominates Catalan vote
- Date: 24th November 2012
- Summary: BARCELONA, SPAIN (NOVEMBER 24, 2012) (REUTERS) BARCELONA CENTRE POSTER READING 'LET'S BUILD THE CATALAN STATE' POSTER SHOWING LEFT WINGED PRO INDEPENDENCE REPUBLICAN LEFT (ESC) LEADER ORIOL JUNQUERAS BANNER SHOWING CONSERVATIVE PEOPLE'S PARTY (PP) REGIONAL LEADER ALICIA SANCHEZ CAMACHO AND READING: 'YES TO SPAIN AND TO CATALONIA AS WELL" CLOSE UP OF SANCHEZ CAMACHO POSTER SHOWING PRO INDEPENDENCE CONSERVATIVE PARTY CONVERGENCE AND UNITY LEADER ARTUR MAS (SOUNDBITE) (Catalan) BARCELONA RESIDENT, CARME GUTIERREZ, SAYING: "If they said 'Hey, thanks for helping us out' -because we do help them out-...but they don't, and we are bad, we are cheap and we are the worst possible thing. So bye, bye. I totally want to leave. I wish we left. But I think I am too old and I won't see it happening." PEOPLE WALKING CATALAN FLAGS INSIDE SHOP MAN AT NEWSPAPER STAND POSTCARDS AT NEWSPAPER STAND (SOUNDBITE) (Catalan) BARCELONA RESIDENT, GEMMA, SAYING: "They always say it is because of the money, but it isn't. We love Spain, we love our language, we love our culture. Catalonia has always taken people in, you can ask other people about that. We change language if needed because Spanish and Catalan can coexist. But is it so weird? We love our culture and our language." PEOPLE WALKING UP STEPS OF TRAIN STATION VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA RESIDENT, MAXIMILIANO APARICIO, SAYING: "Catalonia must live with Spain and Spain with Catalonia. That is what I think. Everything else is wrong. Everyone gets money from everywhere and workers are doing worse every day." MOTORBIKE DRIVING BY GIRL SITTING ON BENCH PEOPLE WALKING
- Embargoed: 9th December 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Spain
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA3NMEH37LRYGCZNM1YCS0W4US7
- Story Text: Residents of Spain's wealthy but financially troubled region of Catalonia are set to choose a new government on Sunday (November 25) in an election that could trigger a constitutional crisis over a resurgent Catalan breakaway movement.
Opinion polls show most Catalans will vote for pro-independence parties, either from the left or right, handing their leader a mandate to hold a referendum on secession, despite strong resistance from the Spanish government.
According to polls between 46 percent and 57 percent of Catalans want their own country, the highest levels ever.
Barcelona resident Carme Gutierrez expressed her contempt for a central government she believes is bleeding Catalonia of its tax revenue.
"If they (Madrid) said 'Hey, thanks for helping us out' -because we do help them out-...but they don't, and we are bad, we are cheap and we are the worst possible thing. So bye, bye. I totally want to leave. I wish we left. But I think I am too old and I won't see it happening," said Carme.
The secessionist threat is a major problem for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who is trying to show stability and fiscal responsibility in his fight to keep Spain in the euro currency zone and avoid an international bailout, despite a savage recession.
Catalan President Artur Mas is expected to win re-election in voting for the regional assembly in Barcelona, after he converted to the independence cause following a massive pro-secession march in September.
Mas has promised to hold a referendum on independence if he is re-elected, a move Madrid says contravenes the constitution.
Like the Basque Country, which also borders France, Catalonia has its own language and sees itself as different from the rest of Spain.
For some voters, like Gemma, keeping the Catalan language and culture is not incompatible with coexisting as part of Spain.
"They always say it is because of the money, but it isn't. We love Spain, we love our language, we love our culture. Catalonia has always taken people in, you can ask other people about that. We change language if needed because Spanish and Catalan can coexist. But is it so weird? We love our culture and our language," said Gemma.
Catalonia's busy Mediterranean ports, car factories, chemical plants and banks account for a fifth of Spain's economy.
Until recently the region of 7.5 million people were content to push for greater self-governance - such as collecting and spending its own taxes - without seeking independence.
But Spain's recession, with 25 percent unemployment and drastic public spending cuts, has sharpened a Catalan perception that they are taxed unfairly.
Like the rest of Spain, Catalonia overspent during a decade-long property boom that crashed in 2007 and now it cannot borrow on the markets on its own because its debt has been downgraded to junk. That forced Mas, who as head of the regional government is elected by the assembly rather than directly by voters, to ask Madrid for a 5 billion euro bailout to meet debt payments.
Even so, Catalans blame their problems on Madrid rather than their own leader. Just as Germany has wearied of bailing out Greece and other southern European countries, many Catalans feel their taxes are being used by Madrid to prop up poorer areas of the country.
The frustration crystallised in the biggest-ever demonstration for independence on Sept. 11, Catalan national day, when hundreds of thousands marched in the streets.
Prime Minister Rajoy warns that Catalonia would have to re-apply to join the European Union if left Spain, a lengthy process, while King Juan Carlos has also called for unity.
In part inspired by independence drives in Scotland and Belgium's Flanders, a growing number of Catalans believe their region - which has more people than Denmark and an economy rivaling Portugal's in size - would be better off on its own.
Many voters in Catalonia don't want to see secession happening. They denounce Mas as an opportunist who will soon renew talks with Madrid over taxes. Other suspect his newly-found independence fervour is meant to distract them from spending cuts in hospitals and schools.
"Catalonia must live with Spain and Spain with Catalonia. That is what I think. Everything else is wrong. Everyone gets money from everywhere and workers are doing worse every day," said local resident Maximiliano Aparicio.
Pro-independence Catalans argue that a strong referendum majority for independence would force Spain to change the constitution and the EU would have to respect self-determination.
Catalonia would probably gain no early official representation at the European Central Bank if it split away from Spain, although it could keep using the euro currency.
Polls show Mas' CiU winning about 62 seats on Sunday. It's not enough for an absolute majority, but together with other parties such as the Republican Left (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC), independence supporters will probably have a two-thirds majority in the Catalan parliament.
Leftist independence party ERC is projected to win 18 seats and almost double its presence in the 135-seat assembly. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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