The unitary act to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the 1-O referendum, considered the great victory by the independence movement, has not contributed to reducing the tension between the different actors at a time when the Govern de Esquerra Republicana and Junts per Catalonia is about to collapse, at the expense of the events of the next few hours and the consultation of JxCat members next week.
At the rally, which took place at Arc de Triomf, in Barcelona, there have been boos, shouts and whistles at the Republican leaders –especially the former president of the Parlament Carme Forcadell– and all those who have advocated from the stage for trying to redirect the situation. And if that were not enough, the former president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont, has raised the decibels with his final intervention, in which he has highlighted that the fight for independence does not expire.
“Let everyone be clear that the votes that allow the institutions to govern come from that overflow [on 1-O]. And it is normal and understandable that we begin to address those who have the responsibility, so that they put themselves at the service of what we decided five years ago. It is a challenge that the Consell de la República intends to lead, in case someone gets lost and once they have taken our votes, we no longer see them”, added the former president. A message that challenges his own.
In his speech, the until recently president of Junts has warned that "if progress is not made in the direction set out in the legal, democratic and binding referendum, the Consell has the obligation to take the lead"; and he remarked that a vote has already been taken, that the 2017 consultation was "valid" and it is not necessary to repeat it.
In Puigdemont's opinion, the State will not be "dislodged" "no matter how well the regional government works or how impeccable the regional laws approved by the Parliament." "Each one has their job, while autonomy is governed independence has to be completed and someone has to put [...]. And that someone is the Consell”, has concluded the also MEP, without a doubt the most applauded during the act, in which there has been representation of all the political formations and all the Junts ministers have attended. 11,000 people have gathered according to the calculations of the Guàrdia Urbana, and 60,000 according to the organizers.
Everything seems very tangled, but in Catalan politics everything has been seen in recent years – Puigdemont himself was sworn in on a Sunday night when the electoral repetition in 2016 was already taken for granted – and the future of the Executive is pending a possible negotiation in extremis that seems increasingly complicated. That is if Pere Aragonès lends himself to negotiating JxCat conditions that the president himself already advanced on Friday that he would not address even remotely.
In fact, in his speech by videoconference, Puigdemont has insisted on one of the points that Junts has been demanding from Aragonès for a long time, the joint strategic direction. "Today if there is a table to which we have to be chained and from which we should never get up, it is the dialogue table between us, between the brothers of Esquerra, Junts, CUP, Òmnium and Assemblea" , has pointed.
The prelude to the booing of Forcadell was given when the name of the ERC general secretary, Marta Rovira, was sounded at the start of the loudspeaker. Forcadell was the first to intervene and was repeatedly interrupted with shouts of "Aragonès resignation!", "Govern resignation!", "Out, out!", "Traitor!" or “Enough is enough!”, so that she could finish her speech, in which she has asked that the fights between independentists be left aside. “Let's stop fighting, complaining. Let's forget the reproaches and let's work together for a new opportunity, ”said Forcadell, who was hoarse.
“You are disappointed: I understand it and I share it”, said the former president of the Catalan Chamber before the constant beeps.
The list of bullies has grown after Maties Serracant, mayor of Sabadell of the CUP in 2017, when he claimed margin for dissent; the president of the Association of Municipalities for Independence, Jordi Gaseni (from ERC), when he spoke of the need to have a "strong" Government for the municipalities and asked that the crisis of the Generalitat be resolved; or Xaviert Antich, president of Òmnium, who has emphasized that there is no alternative to the entente between the different pro-independence sensibilities.
"They have not whistled at us [...]. People have the right to express their rejection," said the president of JxCat, Laura Borràs, at night on 8TV.
For his part, the general secretary of the formation, Jordi Turull, has assured on TV3 that he did not like the boos to Forcadell, who like him spent more than three years in prison for the procés.
The president of the Assemblea, Dolors Feliu, has gotten rid of the whistles and has questioned the continuity of the Executive of Aragonès. In addition, she has taken credit for the current situation between the partners of the Govern. “We have made them move. We have done it ourselves”, he stressed, while reiterating that they will attend the Parliamentary elections with a “civic list” and has announced the convening of a national conference for independence in February 2023 at the latest. “So that this legislature, be it long or short, finds us prepared with a plan”, he added. “Since the parties do not add up, it is necessary to look for new paths”, Feliu justified.
