On Friday, the regional parliament of Catalonia — Spain’s northeastern, autonomous region, bordering France — voted overwhelmingly to secede from Spain. As the Spanish government cracks down on this democratic act of self-determination, the European Union should live up to its rhetoric on human rights by taking a greater stand on Spain’s violent repression.
The situation is complicated. Spain’s 1978 Constitution recognizes Catalonia as an “autonomous” region. The Constitution also calls Spain “indissoluble,” and states that only Spain’s legislature has the power to alter it (and thus, the power to permit secession). As such, Spain is now calling Catalonia’s move for independence illegal.
But many of Catalonia’s 7.5 million inhabitants are outraged that they pay roughly $12 billion more in taxes to Madrid than they receive each year. As such, local leadership held a referendum for independence on Oct. 1. With a turnout of just over 40 percent, voters favored independence by over 90 percent.
Spain responded by calling the referendum illegal per the 1978 Constitution, and by sending in black-garbed, shielded, baton-wielding police to disrupt voting. Their violence against voters led to roughly 1,000 injuries. An illegal vote or not, this hardly makes Spain look like a thriving, Western democracy, meeting the EU’s standards on human rights.
The latest development happened Friday. Catalonia’s parliament voted, 70 to 10, for independence. The Spanish Senate responded by invoking article 155 of its 1978 Constitution, which ambiguously allows the Spanish government to do almost anything “if a self-governing community” (like Catalonia) contradicts Spain’s “interests.” With this justification, Spain has now entered a legal gray area by suspending Catalonia’s government to impose direct rule by Madrid.
So, in short, Catalonia’s referendum was of questionable legality and had a questionable outcome due to its low numbers. It was democracy at work, though, and seeing Catalonia’s own parliament vote for independence as well should shore up some doubts regarding the referendum for anyone who believes in a republic. Spain has some legal technicalities on its side through the 1978 Constitution, but surely that does not excuse violence against non-violent voters.
Further, for those who hold that self-determination is a natural, inalienable right, the assurance of Spain as a “indissoluble” country in its 1978 Constitution is a moot point. If we, in the West (thus including our European counterparts), do believe in this principle, then the Catalans have a right to determine whether they are Spanish or not; it does not matter what Spain says.
I will not say whether Catalonia should be independent. I’ll leave that to the Catalans. But the EU undermines its claim to be a major proponent of democracy and human rights when it stands to the side of Spanish abuses against Catalans, who are Spanish and EU citizens.
The EU may sanction its members. If Spain relies on brutality to handle Catalonia’s bid for independence, the EU should take more action than tweeting “I hope the Spanish government favours force of argument, not argument of force,” as European Commission President Donald Tusk did.
If the EU’s leaders failed courage comes from not wanting to upset Spain, they would do well to remember their choice to discourage pro-EU Scotland’s independence bid in 2014 only resulted in England dragging it from the EU kicking and screaming two years later through Brexit. While realpolitik will always factor in the decisions of organizations like the EU, standing up for human rights and self-determination by threatening sanctions against Spain is both the right thing to do and in the EU’s long-term interests.
| Courtesy Gregory Jackson
Gregory R. Jackson, Ph.D., is assistant professor of integrated studies at Utah Valley University. He specializes in European and Middle Eastern history and hosts the podcast, “History That Doesn’t Suck.”