While Latin America is currently not living situations similar to those in Catalonia, the EU states that it does not recognize the possible secession as valid

Leer en Español: Cataluña: ¿con la atención del mundo encima?

The European governments reject a possible unilateral declaration of Catalonia’s independence and assert their support to Mariano Rajoy hoping for the enforcement of the Spanish constitution. The French government was one of the first ones to speak up and affirm, through the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Nathalie Loiseau, that if a unilateral declaration is declared, “Catalonia would immediately leave the European Union” and pointed out that “Catalan independence is illegal according to the Spanish Constitution “.

The French Government has made itself known during recent weeks by being one of the strongest supporter, within the European Union, of the territorial integrity of Spain and the search for a solution through legal actions for the situation that is currently being lived. For Loiseau, “you cannot reduce Catalonia to the query that the independents held ten days ago, it would be a mistake. It was against to the Constitution and there was no means of verifying its quality, neither the electoral census nor the development of scrutiny”.

Read also: Catalonia keeps on moving towards independence

The German government, through Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokeswoman Steffen Seibert, confirmed the telephone conversation between the two Heads of State and stated that “the German chancellor spoke with both the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and with the president of the Spanish Government Rajoy. ” Seibert assures that “during the conversation with Mariano Rajoy, the Germans ratified their support for the unity of Spain. They exchanged views on ways to strengthen the Spanish internal dialogue within the framework of the Constitution.”. For Merkel, the constitution, and the guidelines it offers, is the most suitable for preserving Spanish unity, as well as stability not only for the Iberian Peninsula, but also throughout the continent.

British Prime Minister Theresa May assured her parliament that she hopes for a peaceful solution to the situation in Spain and that she was confident that the rule of law would not be broken. Both the United Kingdom and the European Union have expressed concern about the situation, but equally support the position of the Spanish president while constantly inviting the parties to follow the appropriate legal path.

Lucía Dammert, an expert in international affairs from the University of Santiago in Chile, explains that situations such as those experienced in Spain are rare and makes it clear that such conditions are not possible within the American continent. For the expert, although there are regions in the Latin American countries that have had problems with the central governments, they have done it in search of autonomy in certain areas, mainly in the economic aspect, but not a total secession from the nation itself.

For Dammert, although Spain had been an example of territorial unity, as well as support in conflicts, “its image projected towards Latin America changes radically and demonstrates attitudes that should not be adopted. The rejection of the oppression of the independents by the police was seen as negative by almost all the American subcontinent, but nevertheless the support towards Mariano Rajoy is complete […] “.

Latin American Post | Carlos Eduardo Gómez Avella

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