Ten year-end reflections

Throughout 2015 I´ve tried not to talk much about the process. I didn´t want to add more opinions to a debate that has often produced more confusion than clarity, and in the end, exhaustion. But New Year´s Eve and the current delicate political situation have inspired me to make some reflections.

1. In this debate, I want three things for my nation: recognition of the reality of its status as a nation; full sovereignty in terms of civil, linguistic, cultural, and educational rights; and a Catalan Treasury Department with the ability to collects its own taxes and with full decision power over the use of those resources.

2. To have our own country would be a good way to achieve these goals, but it´s not the only one, nor perhaps the simplest. I think that there could also be other ways of having the same, or most of the same, without needing to break with the citizens of the rest of Spain, who I don´t consider my adversaries.

3. For these reasons, I´m not in favor of independence, but neither am I against it... nor will I take any action to put obstacles in its path. This does not stop me from pointing out some mistakes that I see in the current process that could bring about its failure and create enormous frustration, and which would leave us worse off than before.

4. I have often heard a definition by President Mas that says that the objective of the process is "that Catalonia have its own state within the European Union and the Eurozone". I share this view. I think that it carries with it three implicit conditions: the support of a large majority of Catalans expressed democratically, the acceptance of negotiation with Spain, and the cooperation of European authorities. I believe that these authorities could be able to understand the Catalan desire and support it, as long as it is accompanied by democracy and legality.

5. All political strategies must assess the abilities and the situation of the adversary. You can´t say that to propose the segregation of the most dynamic territory, with the highest GDP in Spain, in a moment in which the State has a government with an absolute majority and a pronounced centralizing ideology, with very high and growing debt and a significant public deficit, would be choosing the best opportunity. The opposition encountered would suggest waiting: this is not only ideological-- it is in part pure survival.

6. Haste is a bad advisor in affairs that clearly need time. Emotional outbursts have appeared far too often instead of rational thought. We have seen how, in not reaching a objective, instead of becoming stronger, we have moved on to a more difficult goal, setting out short timeframes that complicate the situation still more.

7. It was predictable that the process would have moments of heavy tension, not physical violence but economic confrontation, as we have seen. To begin a fight when all the weapons (that is, tax collection) are in the hands of the other side puts us in a weak position for negotiations. Why was the fight for a fiscal agreement abandoned so soon, jumping directly to a demand for a referendum? Our strength would be so different if the Generalitat already had the keys to the vault!

8. With the referendum blocked, they moved up elections to do, in parallel, a plebiscite. A clear winner emerged to form a government, but the pro-independence option lost the referendum by just a hair. It was possible to read the results correctly by recognizing this fact, but also highlighting that there was an overwhelming majority in favor of the right to self-determination. But they opted to create a Parliament and take the next leap forward by approving a unilateral declaration of independence.

9. As a result of this skewed reading we have been living through a complex and disappointing situation since September. I don´t see positive future scenarios, whether in the end there is an investiture or new elections. It´s not my place to make proposals-- I don´t feel qualified to do so. So I´ll ask questions: Could we return (if not all of us, many) to the morning of September 28th? The plebiscite nature of the elections, which now nobody denies, made it clear that, even if the pro-independence option didn´t reach 50%, the will to decide our own future and change our situation approached 75%. This gives us impressive strength when facing a new government in Madrid, and in dealing with Europe. Will we know how to take advantage of it?

10. I would like to say that I want, above all, a dynamic and open country, with a more just and productive society. Independence can help us with this, but we need many other tools....