After almost seven months since the political intervention of the executive branch in the Generalitat of Catalonia, the question that arises now is: what are the effects of this decision in the autonomous community?

On May 20, the newspaper El País of Spain made public the decision of President Mariano Rajoy to maintain the political intervention that his government has on Catalonia. According to a press release from the executive branch, the measure was taken by a "provocation" of the Catalan Government, in relation to the election of the councillors of the Generalitat (Catalan institutional system) under the new president of the Spanish autonomous community, Quim Torra.

Leer en español: ¿Qué consecuencias ha dejado la intervención del Gobierno español en Cataluña?

The controversy arose because the new functionaries have judicial precedents before the Spanish law. In fact, several are fugitives, according to El País.

Why the political intervention?

The Article 155 of the Spanish political Constitution explains the powers of the national government to counteract the threats caused by the autonomous communities, against the Union and the Rule of Law in Spain.

Textually refers to: "If an Autonomous Community does not comply with the obligations that the Constitution or other laws impose on it, or act in a way that seriously threatens the general interest of Spain, the Government, upon request to the President of the Autonomous Community and, in the case of not being attended to, with the approval by an absolute majority of the Senate, may adopt the necessary measures to compel the former to comply such obligations or for the protection of said general interest".

According to El País, faced with the almost unanimous decision of the Catalan Government, headed by former President Carles Puigdemont, to opt for an independent Catalonia, President Mariano Rajoy decided to launch article 155 and cancel government activities in that region. Since 27th of October the 'autonomy' of Catalonia has descended greatly.

Catalan response

However, the intervention was only a bridge to consolidate a new Government, based on the elections that took place on December 27 of last year.

In those elections, the Parliament had no further transformation by preserving secessionism as a majority ideology. In addition, in the past presidential elections on May 17th, the pro-independence Quim Torra remained with the post. 

Consequently, since his arrival in power Torra has not avoided having any friction with the Spanish Government. On the contrary, the election of his new Council has been taken as an affront to the Executive.

"The calls to open 'a new stage' in Catalonia, which the central government seeks since the inauguration of Quim Torra, as president of the Generalitat, have not had the slightest echo. This is the certainty of the Executive to know the list of advisers with whom the Catalan president wants to form his government", El País wrote.

Who suffers with all this?

Without a doubt, the Catalan sovereignty is the main one affected by the actions that come from the Government of Spain. In addition to political intervention, there is also an economic one that prevents Catalonia from having control over government money within that region, as a precaution of the Spanish authorities to avoid financing movements and / or groups that may have the purpose of propagating the separatist ideology.

As a result, before the end of 2017, more than 31 million euros, which represented aid for the agricultural sector in Catalonia, remained static. Due to this, it became impossible to finance the corresponding credits for agriculture in 2018.

Similarly, internal relations between Catalans are increasingly broken, according to different media since the separatist consultation. The distance between those who defend independence and those who do not, is getting bigger and bigger. In fact, the representatives of the Catalan power have entered IGNORE INTO this dispute. In some areas of the autonomous community such as Canet de Mar, Llafranc and Calella de Palafrugell, a territorial and ideological dispute has been established over the exorbitant use of separatist symbology and the actions with which the pro-Spain responds.

However, the reaction of local authorities is directly proportional to the political thinking they defend. Those who have an affinity with the idea of ​​separation consider the actions of the separatists as "forms of free expression"; while the defenders of the Spanish Government judge, even with repression, such conduct.

Of course, this 'enmity' is transmitted to the rest of the country. At some point Rajoy considered the decision as a measure "to avoid the inadmissible kidnapping of the Catalans and theft of part of their territory to the rest of Spaniards". These last words have been received among hundreds of citizens of the rest of Spain, who see in the separatist ideas a way to "start with the end of the Spanish Union", according to several people in an interview with the newspaper El Mundo.

In this way, the intervention in Catalonia affects not only the political ideals of the separatist sectors, but also the citizens relations (culture, economy and society) between Catalonia and the rest of Spain.

Latin American Post | Christopher Ramírez Hernández

Translated from "¿Qué consecuencias ha dejado la intervención del Gobierno español en Cataluña?"