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Catalan Government Said To Back Off Independence Push, Will Seek Elections; Spanish Stocks Soar, Yields Tumble

October 26, 2017

Catalan Government Said To Back Off Independence Push, Will Seek Elections; Spanish Stocks Soar, Yields Tumble

Yesterday Catalonia’s government was preparing to declare independence, as we discussed. Just hours after Puigdemont snubbed Madrid, canceling his visit to The Senate to discuss their imposition of Article 155, Catalan Deputy First Minister Oriol Junqueras told AP that the Spanish government had left Catalonia “no other option” but to proclaim a new republic. Mr. Junqueras told the AP he was commenting as leader of his party, Republican Catalan Left, not as a member of the regional government. Additionally, Puigdemont posted a defiant Instagram message: “We will not lose time with those who have already decided to crush Catalan self-government. Onwards!”

However, just a few hours later, the Catalonia leadership seems to have backed down, and instead is opting for elections, reportedly just before Christmas.

According to Bloomberg, Catalan President Carlos Puigdemont may call regional elections this week, rather than declaring independence from Spain, as authorities in Madrid finalize plans to oust his rebel administration, according to two people familiar with his thinking.

After defying the Spanish courts for weeks, Puigdemont decision could either ease tensions or deepen the biggest constitutional crisis in western Europe’s fifth-largest country since an attempted coup in 1981. Spain’s chief prosecutor has warned he faces up to 30 years in jail if he goes ahead with the declaration.

“The scenario of independence is one that we cannot allow and which will not happen,” Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told Spanish radio on Thursday. He said there was already a “significant slowdown” in economic activity in the region. “They’re caught in a mousetrap. It seems their own decisions are producing vertigo.”

Bloomberg’s also reports that this could take place on 20 December 2017.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Dear Spain, Mainstream Media: A Majority of Catalans Want Independence (Stop Saying Otherwise)

October 24, 2017

Even though 92% of voters in the Catalonia election voted for independence, mainstream media keeps repeating the lie that a majority in Catalonia were against independence. Here’s the real math.

Mainstream Media Lies

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal repeated this frequently stated lie “A majority of Catalonia’s 7.5 million inhabitants don’t support independence, recent polls show.”

Today, ABC news repeated the stale news we have heard so many times before: “Until this crisis erupted, polls showed about 70 per cent of Catalans wanted to vote in an independence referendum. But only 41 per cent were actually in favour of cutting ties with Spain.”

These media outlets all parrot each other. Lies get repeated over and over and over. The Guardian and countless other places made the statement. No one bothers to link to or even cite the date of the “recent poll”.

I believe the allegedly “recent” poll was taken in July. Regardless, it was superseded by a more recent poll.

Most Recent Poll

The most recent poll was taken October 1. The results are as posted above. Counting ballots confiscated by Madrid, the real turnout was 57%.

Some may dispute the number of confiscated ballots. Don’t blame me, blame Madrid. If Madrid did not confiscate ballots and prevent people from voting, that reporting issue would not be in play.

It’s a certainty those confiscated ballots were overwhelmingly in favor of independence. In addition to the confiscated ballots, many who wanted to vote were forced away by Madrid police.

Its likely that yes had an outright majority from the 770,000 stolen votes alone. Add in other suppressed votes and its a certainty yes had an outright majority.

Dear mainstream media, the majority of Catalonia wanted independence. Please stop your lies.

If You Want to Understand the Next 10 Years, Study Spain

October 23, 2017

If You Want to Understand the Next 10 Years, Study Spain

Some of you may be confused as to why a U.S. citizen living in Colorado has become so completely obsessed with what’s going on in Spain. Bear with me, there’s a method to my madness.

I believe what’s currently happening in Spain represents a crucial microcosm for what we’ll see sweep across the entire planet over the next ten years. Some of you will want to have a discussion about who’s right and who’s wrong in this particular affair, but that’s besides the point. It doesn’t matter which side you favor, what matters is that Madrid/Catalonia is an example of the forces of centralization duking it out with forces of decentralization.

Madrid represents the nation-state as we know it, with its leaders claiming Spain is forever indivisible according to the constitution. Madrid has essentially proclaimed there’s no possible avenue to independence from a centralized Spain even if various regions decide in large number they wish to be independent. This sort of attitude will be seen as unacceptable and primitive by increasingly large numbers of humans in the years ahead. Catalonia should be seen as a canary in the coal mine. The forces of decentralization are rising, but entrenched centralized institutions and the bureaucrats running them will become increasingly terrified, panicked and oppressive.

As I’ve discussed, this isn’t coming out of nowhere. Humanity’s current established centralized institutions and nation-states have become clownishly corrupt, merely existing to protect and enrich the powerful/connected as opposed to benefiting the population at large. As such, legitimacy has been shattered and people have begun to demand a new way. Whether we see this with the rising popularity of Bitcoin, or the UK decision to leave the EU, evidence is everywhere and we’ve already passed the point of no return. This is precisely why EU leaders are rallying around Madrid. They’re scared to death and fear they might be next. They’re probably right.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Catalonia is not Just About Spain – it is About Brussels!!

October 23, 2017

Catalonia is not Just About Spain – it is About Brussels!!

There are of course those in Spain who side against Catalonia. Others write who are in Catalonia yet disagree with the separatists. Let me make this very clear. It is the government of Rajoy who has acted abusively, and this is all about protecting Brussels and federalizing Europe behind everyone’s back.

Rajoy should have allowed a fair referendum and then negotiate if they won. Canada allowed two refferendums in Quebec and Britain allowed the Scottish referendum. This nonsense that the Constitution does not allow any democratic process is pure TYRANNY. That was the same argument in America by England and in France that led to revolution.

Had Rajoy NOT played the hardline tactics, allowed the referendum to take place, then many who voted for independence may have not done so.  This is about political power – not the dignity, right, or freedom of the people. This is basically stating the people mean nothing and you will obey or else.

This is a political power play that centers around the EU not just Spain.

If Texas or California want a referendum to separate from the USA, it is a human right to take such a vote. There can be no exceptions!!!!!

Spain Won’t Arrest Separatist Leaders, Blames “Fake News” For Catalan Crisis 

October 22, 2017

Spain Won’t Arrest Separatist Leaders, Blames “Fake News” For Catalan Crisis 

Following Catalan President Puigdemont’s address yesterday accusing Madrid of “the worst attack since Franco,” the Spanish government has urged Catalonians to accept direct control from Madrid and ignore seditious instructions from the pro-independence leaders.

Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis responded on Sunday with the call to obey Madrid.

“We are going to establish the authorities who are going to rule the day-to-day affairs of Catalonia according to the Catalan laws and norms … I hope everyone will disregard whatever instructions they will be planning to give because they will not have the legal authority to do that.”

“All the government is trying to do, and reluctantly, is to reinstate the legal order, to restore the constitution but also the Catalan rules and proceed from there,” Dastis told BBC TV.

“We are not going to arrest anyone.”

Of course, Dastis could not help himself but fall back on the establishment’s ‘excuse du jour’ for anything that does not fit with the maintenance of the status quo… “There has been a lot of alternative facts and fake news”

Below are details of the powers the Spanish government plans to assume for a maximum six months before regional elections are held as set out in a proposal to the upper house Senate. As Reuters reports, the measures were formulated under a constitutional provision never before invoked in Spain’s 40 years of democracy.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

“It Could Open A Pandora’s Box”: Italy’s 2 Richest Regions Are Voting In Historic Autonomy Referendums

October 22, 2017

“It Could Open A Pandora’s Box”: Italy’s 2 Richest Regions Are Voting In Historic Autonomy Referendums 

Voters in Italy’s two wealthiest northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto are voting on Sunday in referendums for greater autonomy from Rome, in which a positive outcome could fan regional tensions in Europe at a time when neighboring Spain is cracking down to prevent Catalonia from breaking away.

Lombardy, which includes Milan, and Veneto, which houses the tourist powerhouse Venice, are home to around a quarter of Italy’s population and account for 30% of Italy’s economy, the Eurozone’s third largest. Unlike Catalonia, the consultative votes are only the beginning of a process which could over time lead to powers being devolved from Rome. Also unlike Catalonia, which held an independence referendum on Oct. 1 despite it being ruled unconstitutional, the Italian referendums are within the law. Like Catalonia, however, Lombardy and Veneto complain they pay far more in taxes than they receive.

At its core, today’s vote is about whether taxes collected in the two wealthy regions should be used far more for the benefit of the two regions, or diluted among Italy’s other, poorer regions, especially in the south. Lombardy sends €54 billion more in taxes to Rome than it gets back in public spending. Veneto’s net contribution is 15.5 billion. The two regions would like to roughly halve those contributions – a concession the cash-strapped state, labouring under a mountain of debt, can ill afford.

The two regions are both run by the once openly secessionist Lega Nord, or Northern League party, which hopes that the result will give it a mandate to negotiate better financial deals from Rome.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

450,000 Take To Barcelona’s Streets, Led By Catalan Separatist President, Chanting “Time To Declare Independence”

October 21, 2017

450,000 Take To Barcelona’s Streets, Led By Catalan Separatist President, Chanting “Time To Declare Independence”

With Spain officially pulling the trigger on Article 155, and activating the Spanish Constitutional “nuclear option” this morning, when PM Rajoy said he would seize control of the Catalan government, fire everyone and force new elections in six months, attention has shifted to the Catalan response. And as we waited for the official statement by Catalan separatist president Carles Puigdemont, expected at 9pm local time, we found him taking to the streets, where he led hundreds of thousands of independence supporters in protest around Barcelona on Saturday, shouting “freedom” and “independence” following the stunning news from Madrid earlier on Saturday.

According to municipal police, over 450,000 people rallied on Barcelona’s expansive Paseo de Gracia boulevard, spilling over on to nearby streets, many holding Catalonia’s yellow, red and blue Estelada separatist flag.

Catalan regional vice-president Oriol Junqueras and Catalan regional president
Carles Puigdemont attend a demonstration on October 21, 2017 in Barcelona

Protesters greeted Puigdemont’s arrival at the rally with shouts of
“President, President.” The rest of his executive was also there.

For at least some locals, the time to split from Spain has come: “It’s time to declare independence,” said Jordi Balta, a 28-year-old stationery shop employee quoted by AFP, adding there was no longer any room for dialogue.

Others disgree: “The Catalans are completely disconnected from Spanish institutions, and particularly anything to do with the Spanish state,” said Ramon Millol, a 45-year-old mechanic.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Catalonia’s Political Crisis Snowballs into an Economic Crisis

October 21, 2017

Catalonia’s Political Crisis Snowballs into an Economic Crisis 

Independence would be “horrific” and amount to “financial suicide,” said Spain’s Economy Minister. But financial suicide for whom?

It’s not easy being a Catalan bank these days. In the last few weeks the region’s two biggest lenders, Caixabank and Sabadell, have lost €9 billion of deposits as panicked customers in Catalonia have moved their money elsewhere. Many customers in other parts of Spain have also yanked their savings out of Catalan banks, but less out of fear than out of anger at the banks’ Catalan roots.

Moving their official company address to other parts of Spain last week may have helped ease that resentment, allowing the two banks to recoup some €2 billion of deposits. But the move has angered the roughly 2.5 million pro-independence supporters in Catalonia, many of whom have accounts at one of the two banks. Today they expressed that anger by withdrawing cash en masse.

Many protesters made symbolic withdrawals of €155 — a reference to Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, which Madrid activated today to impose direct rule over the semi-autonomous region. Others opted for €1,714 in a nod to the year 1714, when Barcelona was captured by the troops of King Felipe V, who then proceeded to suppress the rights of rebellious regions.

Some bank customers withdrew a lot more than that. The council of Argentona, a small town outside Barcelona, closed its accounts at Caixabank and Sabadell and transferred all €2.25 million of its funds to a branch of the Dutch lender Triodos. If other institutional or business customers follow Argentona’s example, Caixabank and Sabadell could have a big problem on their hands.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Spain Activates “Nuclear Option”: Will Seize Control Of Catalan Government, Force New Elections

October 21, 2017

Spain Activates “Nuclear Option”: Will Seize Control Of Catalan Government, Force New Elections

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy asked lawmakers to grant him unprecedented powers to force leaders of the Catalonia region to cease their independence push, a dramatic escalation in the confrontation between Spain and the separatist region, which the WSJ – and virtually everyone else – has said will be a major test for Spanish democracy.  According to The Spain Report, this is the first time in the modern democratic period that a central government has suspended home rule in one of Spain’s 17 regions.

BBC Breaking News ✔@BBCBreaking

Spain’s PM Mariano Rajoy unveils plans to curb powers of Catalan government http://bbc.in/2zCVTRr 

Rajoy announced that his central government would use Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution to remove the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, and sack the entire Catalan regional government as part of a barrage of actions, and force new elections on the region within six months. Summoning the sweeping powers of Article 155, Rajoy said Saturday, was a last resort.

Puigdemont and his regional administration will be removed from office once the Spanish Senate approves the government’s plan as soon as this week and Spanish government ministers will take over the management of the Catalan administration, Rajoy said according to Bloomberg. The responsibilities of the Catalan government will be administered in the interim period by central government ministries. Furthermore, the Catalan Parliament will not be allowed to present a new candidate for First Minister, to prevent Puigdemont from being reappointed.

Rajoy said “This is not a suspension of home rule but the dismissal of those who lead the regional government”. The Spanish Senate will be in charge of controlling the process. As a result, Rajoy said Spain’s central government would temporarily control Catalonia’s regional ministries until new elections are called. The prime minister said he is seeking to convene regional elections within six months.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Uncharted Territory, Spain to Take Over Catalonia Government: What’s the Libertarian Position? 

October 20, 2017

Madrid will suspend Catalonia autonomy on Saturday after Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan president, refused to back down from a declaration of independence. What happens next is unknown. Spain fears violence but it may force new regional elections nonetheless. This is uncharted territory.

The Spanish government is to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy and impose direct rule after the region’s president refused to abandon the push for independence that has led to Spain’s biggest political crisis for 40 years.The announcement of the unprecedented measure came after the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, threatened a unilateral declaration of independence if the Spanish government did not agree to talks on the issue.According to article 155, which has never been used, the Spanish government will need to lodge a formal complaint with Puigdemont, then submit its proposals to the senate for debate and approval. As a result, it will be at least a few days before concrete steps are taken.Tensions in the already fraught impasse rose further this week after a judge at Spain’s national court denied bail to two prominent Catalan independence leaders who are being investigated for alleged sedition.

Spain Moves to Suspend Autonomy

Spain is to start suspending Catalonia’s autonomy from Saturday, as the region’s leader threatens to declare independence. The government said ministers would meet to activate Article 155 of the constitution, allowing it to take over running of the region.Catalonia’s leader said the region’s parliament would vote on independence if Spain continued “repression”.Some fear the latest moves could spark further unrest after mass demonstrations before and since the ballot on 1 October. However, the central government wants to minimise the risk of large-scale demonstrations, our correspondent says.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Europe’s Secession Problems Aren’t Going Away

October 20, 2017

Europe’s Secession Problems Aren’t Going Away

globe.PNG

Earlier this week, The New York Times noted that movements for greater local autonomy appear to be spreading throughout Europe. In some ways, the conflict in Catalonia is just the tip of the iceberg. The Times reports:

Coming on the heels of the Catalan vote, the Lombardy and Veneto referendums are yet another signal of the homegrown conflicts that persist in many of the European Union’s member states. Separatist movements are also simmering in Britain — where voters in Scotland rejected independence in a 2014 referendum but continue to debate the issue — as well as France, Germany, Belgium and Romania.

Like Catalonia — and unlike Scotland — the Lombardy and Veneto regions of Italy are among the wealthiest regions, and send enormous amounts of tax revenue to Rome. Italy’s southern regions, which are significantly poorer than northern Italy, have benefited from Northern wealth ever since Italians were all forced into a single nation-state in the late nineteenth century.

This has never been forgotten by Italians from Veneto, many of whom participated in a referendum in 2014 to declare Independence. Naturally, the Italian government in Rome declared the vote invalid. At the time, however, I interviewed one of the organizers Paolo Bernardini about the referendum. (See “Inside Venice’s Secession Movement.”) At the time, secessionists liek Bernardini appeared to be pursuing immediate and total independence from Rome, while remaining inside the EU:

A tiny majority of Veneto people are in favor both of the EU and of the Euro as a currency. So I envisage a little, rich state, playing a major economic and political role in the EU, a stabilizing role. It will interact naturally with other rich and similar states, Bavaria (still part of Germany), Austria, and the Netherlands. It will be a Finland in the Adriatic.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 

Bank Run Imminent: Catalan Separatists Urge Supporters To Pull Cash From Bank

October 19, 2017

Bank Run Imminent: Catalan Separatists Urge Supporters To Pull Cash From Bank

As tension escalate in Spain, Catalan Separatists are potentially about to do some real damage and hit Spain where it really hurts.

In a tweeted message to their 270,000 followers, Assemblea Nacional urged supporters to pull cash from CaixaBank and Banco Sabadell branches between 8 am and 9am Friday to protest at their decision to shift their legal domiciles out of the region…

Assemblea Nacional ✔@assemblea

Demà, prioritàriament de 8 a 9 h, ves a un dels 5 principals bancs i retira la quantitat que vulguis en efectiu. Són els teus diners!

As the video begins…

“1. Go to 1 of the 5 main banks and take out as much cash as you want. Don’t forget, it’s your money”.

As a reminder, both Banco Sabadell and Caxabank – the two largest banks of the Catalan region – moved their corporate headquarters out of Catalonia (with the help of the Spanish government) shortly after the referendum.

 

Catalan Leader Vows To Declare Independence If Spain Triggers “Nuclear Option”

October 18, 2017

Catalan Leader Vows To Declare Independence If Spain Triggers “Nuclear Option”

The Spanish government crackdown on Catalan separatists has intensified this week, with a judge jailing two of the movements leaders and the country’s constitutional court officially declaring the region’s Oct. 1 referendum to be illegal. However, after confusing the Spanish government with his independence (non) declaration, regional leader Carles Puigdemont is refusing to back down ahead of tomorrow’s second, and final, Spanish ultimatum.

According to Reuters, Puigdemont told a meeting of his party on Wednesday he would formally declare independence Thursday morning if Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy follows through with his threat to invoke the so-called “nuclear option” of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, and suspend Catalonia’s regional autonomy – a decision that would likely lead to the arrest of Puigdemont and his government, followed by another violent crackdown on separatists.

Madrid has set a second and final deadline of 10 am local time Thursday for the Catalonian government to recant and officially revoke its symbolic declaration of independence, which Puigdemont suspended last week while hoping to negotiate with the Spanish government, Reuters reported.

Puigdemont has urged the European Union to mediate between Barcelona and Madrid, but EU member states have so far been reluctant to intervene, while Madrid has refused to even engage in any diplomatic contact.  In what some interpreted as an attempt to stall until international concern intensified, Puigdemont delivered a confusing speech in which he neglected to clearly explain his government’s planned course of action, and also refused to clarify whether his government had in fact declared independence, a strategy he employed again on Monday when Barcelona blew through Madrid’s original deadline for withdrawing its independence bid.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

If Catalonia Fails, We All Fail

October 18, 2017

If Catalonia Fails, We All Fail

While I’ve touched on the Catalan independence movement in several recent posts, I want to make one thing clear from the start. I don’t have a strong opinion on whether or not independence is the right move for the region and its people. It would be completely inappropriate for me, a U.S. citizen living in Colorado, to lecture people 5,000 miles away on how they should organize their political lives.

While I don’t have an opinion on how Catalans should vote, I unwaveringly support their right to decide the issue for themselves. When it comes to the issue of voting and referendums, we’ve entered a topic far bigger than Catalonia, Spain, or even Europe itself. When it comes to the issue of political self-determination, we’re talking about an essential human right which should be seen as inherent to all of us, everywhere.

The Catalan push for a right for vote on independence should be seen as part of a much larger push toward greater self-determination that humans will demand in increasingly large numbers in the years ahead. The time is ripe for us as a species to insist on a transition toward a more voluntary, sane, peaceful and decentralized process of political organization. This is an idea whose time has come, and I thank the Catalan people from the bottom of my heart for brining it to the fore, and also for conducting themselves in such a noble, courageous and thoughtful manner. You are leading the way for the rest of us.

The key reason Madrid is wrong on this issue relates to its insistence that Spain must sustain itself in its current form forever. Since Spain is a manmade political creation, this is the modern equivalent of claiming a “divine right of kings,” but rather than bestowing this archaic conception on individual rulers, it’s bestowed upon a nation-state.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Finally Belgium Speaks Out Against Spanish Oppression

October 16, 2017

Finally Belgium Speaks Out Against Spanish Oppression

The Belgium Prime minister Charles Michel has come out against Spain and now other European leaders applaud him for taking a position against the repressive action by Spain’s Civil Guard and National Police despite the fact that those in Brussels remain silent because they care only about their own jobs. Brussels has been silent fearing others will rise up as separatists against their rule. So Brussels has demonstrated to the world that human rights come second to self-interest. This oppression in Spain has done far more damage to the EU than most people realize. Their silence has been taken as proof that they too would resort to violence to protect their jobs as well.

Belgium’s prime minister Charles Michel come out against the official European line on the crisis between Catalonia and Spain. He has stated the obvious that Europe cannot stand for human rights accepting all these refugees while oppressing and dissent among its own people.

Michela has called for “European or international” mediation to start a dialogue between the Catalan and Spanish governments. Spain has taken the very same actions under Rajoy as Franco acting as a fascist dictator rather than as an elected official in a pretend democracy. If Rajoy was Putin, the world would be calling for his head, yet the EU has been silent.

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