During the pro-independence process, the adjective "historic" was abused so much that even the fountain pen that Artur Mas used to sign the call for the 9-N was sent to the Museu d'Història de Catalunya. That query marks a more or less relevant point in the infinite moments of which our history is composed, but it is obvious that its meaning is not the same for a Catalan independenceist or for a Spanish nationalist. Carles Puigdemont announced on September 5 that he was opening negotiations in order to achieve a "historic commitment, a commitment that no Spanish regime or government has been able to make possible". Does the signed document meet those aspirations? This always depends on one's expectations.
The PSOE pact with Junts is the continuation of the agreements that ERC has been developing with the socialists in the past legislature. Both involve the landing of independence on the track of negotiation within the current legal framework. The republicans did it with a dialogue table between the central and Catalan governments (now they are adding another one between parties and a verifier), and they got the pardons. Those from Junts have started a negotiation table between the two parties, with an international verifier (it is likely that there will be three) and the amnesty law. Both ERC and Junts tried to relegate pardons and amnesty as something politically secondary because for pro-independence the idea that the path of these years has not led to the referendum, but to measures of grace, is not very stimulating.
With these agreements, independence returns to dialogue. Even in excess, since there will be no less than three negotiating tables, two between parties and one between governments. In other words, he forgets about the unilateral way for a season, even if he does not expressly acknowledge it. Moreover, it delves deeply into the governance of Spain. How long it will last remains to be seen.
In any agreement, we usually look for the points where each party has given in to find out who has benefited. In this case, to put it simply, they have agreed to disagree and will try to come to an agreement. But there is an advance on the conceptual level: the other party and their point of view are recognized.
The document recalls that the Statute "sought the recognition of Catalonia as a nation" (it appears in the preamble, not in the article) and the historical origin of the conflict (the text goes back to the New Plant Decrees of 1714). For the former president, this is the egg yolk of his story. He usually adds the narrative of the State's repression against the Catalan people, but this does not appear in the document.
Puigdemont also wanted to review the milestones of 9-N and the "referendum" of 1-O. And they are mentioned, but it is added "both suspended and subsequently annulled by the TC".
So much for the story, which serves Puigdemont to explain to his followers the relevance of the agreement. While there will be sectors that see him as scarce, his party is unlikely to reject him. This narrative will have nothing to do with the statement of reasons that will lead the amnesty law. There, the perspective of the PSOE is prioritized, with constant references to the Constitution.
Since this is a time of malicious readings, some of the document will lend itself to confusion. It is a fragment in which the two parties set out their starting points for negotiation. Thus, Junts will "propose" a self-determination referendum, ask for the transfer of 100% of the taxes paid in Catalonia and for the return of "companies that changed their location to other territories". The Convergence of 2012 is back, when Mas demanded a tax pact. Or even the one that negotiated the Statute and asked for "the chicken" and not "the basket of eggs". Together, the text saves its usual addition that the companies left because the King asked them to...
Finally, the pact includes a section on amnesty with outrageous content. Reference is made to the cases that Junts calls lawfare (judicial prosecution). Here is a kick forward that refers to parliamentary commissions of inquiry into Pegasus espionage and Operation Catalunya.
In short, it is a pact that could have been signed a long time ago because it does not involve any break. But in this life everything needs to reach its maturity point. Independence needed time to get here and the PSOE would not have been so patient if it did not need the votes for the investiture. Is it historical? Puigdemont made a tweet yesterday afternoon in which he said: "Today is not going to raise expectations". It will not be a milestone in the independence epic. But it is historic that politics has returned to prominence.
