Lower than 5 weeks earlier than the regional elections in Catalonia and amid uncertainty about whether or not the independence motion will handle to stay in authorities, the present president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, has simply revealed what the referendum query can be he demand. He hopes to succeed in an settlement with Pedro Sánchez's authorities to seek the advice of the Catalans in the event that they need to separate from the remainder of Spain.
“Would you like Catalonia to turn into an unbiased state?” It’s the formulation proposed by Aragonès, who has ruled since 2021 and is searching for re-election within the Could 12 elections he himself referred to as prematurely.
After the parliamentary defeat through which he was unable to approve his finances for 2024, Aragonès, who has dominated alone with solely 33 deputies of his personal since his companions from the opposite independence get together, Junts per Catalunya, left the Generalitat, determined to convey ahead the elections.
He has set a date of Could 12 and plans to run for re-election. The polls give first place to the Catalan Socialist Social gathering candidate Salvador Illa and a really shut end result for the ERC and Junts independence motion, which might be near a tie vote.
Given the current election outcomes and with no obvious absolute majority for any of the candidates, will probably be essential to see who will obtain the parliamentary help essential to type a authorities.
Keep away from making one other mistake
Pleased and already forward of the election marketing campaign, the Catalan president offered a report he had commissioned from the Institute for Self-Authorities Research, a corporation depending on the Generalitat, which despatched its conclusions to Aragonès on Tuesday.
The work entitled “Identification and specification of the authorized channels for the implementation of a referendum asking the residents of Catalonia on independence” discovered its finest ally in Article 92 of the Spanish Structure to convey a referendum to the desk. It isn’t thought of “unlawful”, as was the case with the referendum in Catalonia on October 1, 2017.
“The trail of Article 92 offers that political choices of explicit significance will be submitted to an advisory referendum of all residents (paragraph 1), which have to be referred to as on the proposal of the President of the Authorities and beforehand permitted by the Home of Representatives (part 2),” it says the report.
“My authorities leaves nothing within the drawer,” mentioned Aragonés when presenting the doc.
“I’ve requested the Institute of Self-Authorities to arrange a report on the authorized means to have the ability to maintain a referendum on the independence of Catalonia,” he defined, earlier than clarifying that the session he desires to conform to with Pedro Sánchez will happen will happen “with a transparent query requested It have to be answered with “sure” or “no.”
“That’s Mr. Aragonés' place,” replied Spanish authorities spokeswoman Pilar Alegría on the press convention that takes place each Tuesday after the cupboard assembly on the Moncloa Palace.
For Alegría, who can be Minister of Training and Sports activities, the Catalan president's announcement is pure electoral opportunism.
“And it contradicts the insurance policies now we have pursued lately. A coverage of unity and reunification – mentioned the minister's spokesman. “It’s not on our authorities’s roadmap (a referendum) in any respect.”
Aragonès reacted rapidly and replied: “Unimaginable will not be in our dictionary.”
Settlement with Pedro Sánchez
Earlier than Easter, at a breakfast with the Catalan president organized by the EuropaPress information company and attended by Clarín, Aragonès confirmed that the self-determination referendum for Catalonia was included within the settlement with the federal government.
The Catalan president belongs to the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), the historic independence get together that agreed final November to help the current re-election of Pedro Sánchez in trade for some concessions.
Within the final legislative interval, the ERC had already agreed with Sánchez on the institution of a dialogue desk between the nationwide and regional Catalan governments.
These negotiations resulted in Pardons for the independents who have been tried and convicted for his or her involvement within the unilateral declaration of independence in 2017.
After which the amnesty legislation, a key demand of the opposite separatist get together, the Junts, whose chief is former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont.
Puigdemont, who fled Spain after the declaration of independence and went into exile in Belgium, has already introduced that he’ll run in Catalonia's elections on Could 12.
Nonetheless, his return to Spain will depend on when the controversial amnesty legislation, handed by the Chamber of Deputies however which the Senate has delayed so long as attainable as a result of it considers it unconstitutional, lastly comes into pressure.
After the amnesty
“There was an amnesty, however the decision of the battle will not be but full. We should current our proposals for the long run,” confirmed sources within the Catalan authorities to Clarín this Wednesday.
“We jumped by the phases. We’re already speaking a couple of referendum. That is the one method a battle of this sort will be resolved,” they mentioned.
In a gathering with international correspondents, the folks of Aragonès admitted that the present state of affairs of dialogue and negotiations with the federal government “represents a chance that have to be seized.”
Because of this They counsel agreeing to a referendum despite the fact that there isn’t a date in sight: “A vote is feasible if there’s the political will to take action,” they are saying. We’re impressed by the journey the UK has taken with Scotland or the journey Canada has taken with Quebec. “These precedents impressed us to construct the Catalan highway.”
“Article 92 of the Spanish Structure permits us to say referendum on the independence of Catalonia can be attainable so long as there’s an settlement between the 2 events,” they added.
It’s interpreted that this text refers to “residents” however to not “territories”, and this distinction might legally restrict the territorial scope of the referendum solely to Catalonia and to not the entire of Spain.