Guadalajara’s Spanish nationals came out of the woodwork Sunday to show their support for the preservation of Spanish unity in the face of Catalonia’s latest push for independence.
Approximately 9,000 Spaniards currently live in Guadalajara, according to the Spanish consulate. Draped in the yellow and red of their country’s flag, some 50 vocal exponents of this sizable community – approximately .005 percent of the total – staged a rally outside the city’s Spanish consulate, singing songs, chanting and orating with typical Iberian passion.
“Spain isn’t going to be completely altered because of the ideas of a small minority,” said one of the protestors. “[The organizers of Catalonian independence] have mistreated those who think differently.”
Catalonia’s degree of self-determination has been in a constant state of flux for hundreds of years. It’s language is distinct from Castilian Spanish – not a dialect – and the area has long been Spain’s economic powerhouse, making it too important for Madrid to peaceably relinquish. Dictator Francisco Franco, who came to power following the bloody Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), was especially merciless in his suppression of Catalonia’s attempt at autonomy, going so far as to ban their language, so central to Catalonian identity.
After Franco’s death, Spain transitioned to a democracy that recognized the rights enjoyed by its culturally distinct regions, including Galicia, Andalusia, the Basque country, and, of course, Catalonia. The ban on the Catalan language was lifted and the region flourished economically, becoming once again, after a slump between the end of the civil war and the late sixties, Spain’s chief economic engine.
These days, Barcelona and the rest of Catalonia is still Spain’s most wealthy region, which may be a source of resentment among non-Catalan Spanish and a psychological impulse fueling anti-independence sentiment. Mexico, for its part, has thrown its support behind Madrid, while also urging a peaceful, democratic resolution to the national stand-off.
“If, in spite of a rapprochement the government of Catalonia declares independence, the government of Mexico, according to international law, will not recognize Catalonia as an independent state,” said Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgaray on Tuesday. “Mexico is a fundamental ally and friend of Spain.”
Meanwhile, Madrid has issued a demand that Carles Puigdemont, president of Catalonia’s government, clear up ambiguity and formally declare Catalonian independence by Monday, after which he’ll have a further three days to withdraw the declaration. If he fails to withdraw the declaration, Spain’s central government will use Article 155 of its constitution to suspend the region’s autonomy and rule it directly.