The world turns its back on Catalonia
The international community has made known its political support towards Spain
Leer en Español: El mundo le da la espalda a Cataluña
Before the declaration of independence of Catalonia, the reactions of the international community were almost immediate. From what seemed every corner of the planet, a letter was issued in relation to the subject asking for unity in Spain and for a nonviolent approach to a plausible solution.
Brazil, Australia, Romania, Portugal, Greece, among many others, advocated for the unity of Spain and likewise asked to avoid violence. However, since the date of the Catalan announcement, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia, as well as institutions such as the EU, the UN and NATO, have already released negative statement towards the regions intentions.
For the Vatican, there is concern about the resurgence of nationalism in the world. Pope Francis, through the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Petro Parolin, states that these situations affect the stability and union of the European nations, as well as that of the world. Parolin stressed that, for the Holy Father, situations like Brexit and the separatist pressures that have been present in Europe for the past 5 years urges a call to “reflect”.
Read Also: Catalonia: on the brink of a politically-blinded world
For his part, the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, said that the only interlocutor for the European Union is Spain and reiterated that there is no recognition of Catalonia as an independent state. For Tajani, “Mariano Rajoy has taken the right decision by not recognizing Catalonia as an independent state”. Tajani added that the decision of the Government of Mariano Rajoy to call for elections in the region on December 21st is adequate in order to let the Catalans, as a whole, who make their decision and decide on the government they want.
On the other hand, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, urged for unity and stability to solve the problem that the Catalan declaration has provoked and insisted that the European Union should not and does not have to mediate the problem.
In Portugal, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, communicated directly with King Phillip the VI to talk about the situation with Catalonia and also to urge for unity within the European country.
In Latin America, the rejection was practically generalized; the region also asked for a peaceful negotiation and for respect towards the constitutional laws of Spain. The most well-known public statements are those of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.
In France, not only the national government demonstrated its position against the declaration of independence, the communication’s department of the country voiced the nations criticism on the issue and how the latent concern that the situation could lead to violence should not be discarded.
Only until now, the separatist republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which became independent of the sovereign State of Georgia in 2008 and have not been internationally recognized, have shown interest in giving recognition to Catalonia.
Latin American Post | Carlos Eduardo Gómez Avella
Copy edited by Susana Cicchetto
