Let’s discuss bullfighting, if you like. We can discuss it anywhere in the world, from the point of view of animal rights. We can discuss bullfighting in Catalonia or in Spain, if we think of it as an identity issue. However, the debate that the new PP-sponsored law has deliberately stoked --the bill seeks to impose bullfighting on Catalonia-- is not about bullfighting at all. It is about self-rule.
Therefore, even those who enjoy bullfighting (but also believe in devolution) will find it shocking that Catalan self-rule can be trampled on in such a deceitful manner. They always claim that Spain is one of the most decentralised countries in the world, that in practice it is virtually a federal country where most of the power has been devolved to the regional governments.
In the US every individual state sets the speed limit on its roads and chooses whether to have the death penalty or not. Nevertheless, the Spanish government blatantly ignores what the Catalan parliament has agreed on a lesser issue, one on which Catalonia has exclusive devolved powers. A decentralised country? Perhaps in the day-to-day running of things, but not when it comes to decision-making. Neither on what is substantial nor on what is symbolic. Certainly not when it’s about managing airports or having national sports teams (unlike in Scotland). Desperate to flee: even if it’s only to decide ourselves whether we want bullfighting back or not. So that they do not decide against us.
