Demonstrations are measured by the number of attendees, but also by the tone. In what the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) convened yesterday on the occasion of the Day, the bitterness between pro-independence supporters that characterized last year's mobilization was greatly reduced. That was a busy protest, in which against the innumerable cries of "buttiflers" only those of "Puigdemont, our president" could rival - and in that way - those of "Puigdemont, our president". But yesterday was of a more festive nature. Surprisingly, if you consider that it was convened to try to condition the dialogue with the PSOE. As evidence, the words of the president of the ANC, Dolors Feliu, from the top of the stage: "Let's take to the streets to change the course of events". In any case, the cry of "independence" was, this time, what was heard the most.
The fact that it was a less tense demonstration may have contributed to the irruption of Junts per Catalunya and Carles Puigdemont in the negotiation that he is prepared to maintain for the investiture of president of the central government. It has not taken its toll on them, as it did on ERC. A part of independence gives room and is on the lookout for what the post-convergents can come to an agreement with Pedro Sánchez. However, the amnesty in exchange for the investiture, even if it is only "as a starting point", according to the republicans and the post-convergents, does not convince a part of independence.
At least in the ANC, which is very clear. Feliu, its president, does not trust that the negotiations will serve to achieve independence. His speech sounded ironic when he asked those present if they imagined that "finally, against all odds" in the face of a moment of "weakness, the State recognizes 1-O". "You can't imagine it, right?", she answered herself from the top of the stage to finish by concluding that both ERC and Junts are only "whitewashing the Spanish State" with the negotiations for the investiture.
It was then that the same idea of the 2022 protest appeared: a civic list if the pro-independence parties are not ready to proclaim the Catalan republic. It is an option that the association, or at least its management, is very reluctant to do.
And the same slogan as last year also came up: "Either independence or elections". "Government resignation", added some of the attendees.
Yesterday's largest demonstration, that of the ANC, ended in Plaça Espanya - the organization renamed it October Day. The people who gathered there were the result of four marches, which under the headings of freedom, language, country and sovereignty, went through various parts of Barcelona.
In total, around 115,000 people took part, according to the Urban Guard. The organization immediately responded: in its opinion, there were 800,000. A dissension that does nothing other than confirm the dance of numbers. The sad song of every Eleventh of September, which with each passing year, however, is more accentuated: in 2022, the police assured that 150,000 people had shown up; the ANC, 700,000.
There is another scale to measure the number of attendees, which is an invention of the Assembly itself: the coaches that are hired. In 2017 there were 1,800; in 2018, 1,500; in 2019, 1,200; in 2021, 215; in 2022, 240. As of yesterday, the ANC only sent a note in which it predicted "more than 200" coaches.
This year ERC participated. The Government and President Pere Aragonès were also in the column that marched in favor of the defense of the Catalan language and culture. He was reprimanded at specific moments, but without notable incidents. After just over an hour, the head of government and a good part of the members of Esquerra left the demonstration, as they say, as they had planned.
On the other hand, the Junts members, who took part in the sovereign column that left the headquarters of the Treasury in Catalonia, in Plaça Letamendi, were received without any problem. The negotiation does not weigh them down.
That the tone of the ANC demonstration would be milder than last year's was foreshadowed by the floral offering at the monument to Rafael Casanova, in Barcelona. Very few whistles, regardless of the party or entity that went there. One of the quietest offerings that can be remembered in recent years.
There were no incidents at the ERC event either. There Aragonès bet that his party and Junts would work together to negotiate. Xavier Antich, president of Omnium Cultural, had also stressed a few hours earlier from the Arc de Triomf the need for pro-independence parties to coordinate.
The president sent a warning to Pedro Sánchez: the amnesty "is not enough". The goal, he said, is independence. "We need to move towards the definitive referendum", he expressed while boasting of the previous four years of dialogue with the PSOE Government and Unides Podemos. "He who goes ahead, paves the way, removes the hedges and leads the way is the one who gets the most shivers (...). It is excellent news that there are "more people who agree on this path", he said in a clear allusion to Junts per Catalunya.
Jordi Turull, general secretary of the post-convergents, had previously touched on the weak side. He celebrated the "change of position" of ERC and the president of the Generalitat, who during the speech on Sunday for the Day called for unity to negotiate. "Welcome the change in ERC's position, it has been six years since we have been banned from taking part in any political negotiations", he let go.
In parallel with the ANC demonstration, the one traditionally organized by the pro-independence and anti-capitalist left took place in Barcelona. Both members of the CUP as the most visible faces, their deputy Xavier Pellicer denounced the "fish in the cave" policy that, in his opinion, ERC and Junts are willing to invest in Sánchez.
The celebrations of the Eleventh of September culminated with the institutional event at the fountains of Montjuïc, with the presence of the Government of the Generalitat and all the authorities.
