I looked around. We were in Spain, a fairly new yet vibrant democracy, in Barcelona, one of the wealthiest cities in one of the wealthiest provinces in Europe, a city whose biggest challenge in recent years has been contending with mass tourism. The comparison with South Africa under apartheid seemed morally outrageous, and I told him so. “We’re not talking about social disparities, we’re talking about political obstacles on legitimate issues,” he answered. Outside, banners with yellow ribbons reading, “Free the Political Prisoners” were hung from the facades of public buildings.
That many supporters of independence have come to see the jailed leaders as martyrs is a powerful and volatile dynamic in the campaign. Much hinges on whether pro-independence parties gain a majority. Even if they don’t—and new polls this week suggest they might not—the issue won’t be settled, since the independence camp’s sense of outrage and grievance at the central government will not easily die down.
It’s a strange situation. The independence camp won the referendum held on October 1—out of 5.3 million Catalonians, 2.2 million voted, and of them, 90 percent voted “yes,” according to the Catalan government— and yet the referendum also failed. Much to the separatists’ dismay, the European Union, a community of nation-states, not restive provinces, did not bless Catalonia’s declaration of independence. And the Spanish government quickly sent a clear message: Spain was a united country and would not tolerate breakaway regions.
But the images seen around the world of some Spanish police officers beating up voters at polling places made the center-right government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy look as repressive, autocratic, and insensitive as the independence camp had long said it was, creating a wave of sympathy—including from Catalans who had previously opposed independence. Catalan politicians may have sold their citizens impossible dreams, but the government in Madrid had offered no counter-narrative besides appealing to the law. It had become a match between utopians and disciplinarians. Spain is not South Africa, nor does it appear to have a Mandela—a leader with the moral authority to propose a political solution acceptable to both sides.
For more read the full of article at The Atlantic.
