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These last years in Catalonia we have what we call CONSULTES. Some people of Catalonia organize a poll where you can say if you are in favour or against independence. These CONSULTES have nothing to do with Catalan Parliament, etc. Just some people that ask your opinion through a poll in the street. This 10 th of April thses consultes take place in the capital of Catalonia. Since these CONSULTES startes some months ago the percentage of votes has not being very high and in fact it even decreased. If the CONSULTES bring a lot of people to vote the people of the CONSULTES are very happy for this and if there are few people they say that is so not important.
Needless to say that the ones behind these CONSULTES are not just neutral associations. They are the ones that want independence. Until now, these polls with so few voters have had about 90% of votes or more in favour of independence. If you take into account that the people behind the CONSULTES want independence and that so few people vote this is not strange.
In these CONSULTES you also can vote in advance. So now we know that former President of Catalonia, Jordi Pujol, votes for independence. And now, the current President of my country, has voted for independence too.
Some months ago, the pPresident of Catalonia had not still won the election. On a TV show another politician asked him to join him in asking for a self-determination referendum in Catalonia. Artur Mas answered that the idea of the referendum was not bad but that it was not the right time because he was not sure that Independence would be the winner.
I say that because I find not a very democratic idea not to want to have a self-determination referendum just because you are afraid of not winning. If we all people were so democractic as having these idea then the people who do not like independence sould also not want a referendum when they can lose. What I mean by all this is that this current president that says YES to independece in this non-binding and not-official popular poll was against a SELF-DETERMINATION REFERENDUM because he thinks the time to win this referendum has not arrived yet. This makes me quite sad because I think that if one is really a democrat then he always wants his country to have its final say. Not just when he things this say matches his thoughts.
So, I find ridiculuous a president who votes YES for independece in a popular non-binding,non.offical poll but at the same time, as President, he does not ally himself with the independentist parties of the Catalan Parliament.
Anyway, this is Catalonia or part of Catalonia. Chanting independence through the streets and at the same time rejecting independence in Parliament.
There is nothing wrong in wanting independence or wanting to remain in Spain. What is totally wrong is to say one thing and to do another. And this is more worrying when this is done by the President of your country!
If Spain is so bad for Catalonia a real leader of a great old nation, as Catalonia is seen by some, then you do all you can in Parliament to try to leave Spain. Instead you just make a fool of yourelf: you say YES to independence in a popular poll and you do not do anything in the Catalan Parliament. What a shame!
Related Articles
- Deficits in Regions Compound Fears About Spain (nytimes.com)
- The Catalans’ quandary (guardian.co.uk)
- Spain: why prosperous Catalans may beat rebellious Basques to the exit (guardian.co.uk)
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