JxSí, CUP ratify constituent process conclusions and defy Court

BarcelonaThere was tension in Parliament when Catalan lawmakers assembled ahead of the vote on the study committee's conclusions about Catalonia’s constituent process. JxSí —the governing pro-independence coalition— and the CUP put an end to the uncertainty and forced the debate after the question time session with the president of the Generalitat. Once President Carles Puigdemont had answered the last question, representatives of the two groups --Jordi Turull and Anna Gabriel-- asked for the floor to request a change to the order of the day. In the end, after some episodes of bitter tension, they voted: 72 representatives --the pro-independence bloc-- voted in favor of debating the conclusions, and 52 voted against it (the 11 representatives of CSQP did not vote).

Carme Forcadell, the Speaker of the Parliament, then asked both groups if they were aware of the Spanish Constitutional Court's (TC) injunction against the holding of this debate. Jordi Turull, speaking on behalf of JxSí, stated that Article 57 of the Catalan Statute permitted the debate because it considers the representatives' opinions and votes inviolable. Gabriel also ratified the will to debate despite the TC because they were also aware of the breakaway declaration: "For independence, we have no fear", she concluded.

Given the intent of the two groups, Forcadell --who acted on advice from the chamber’s legal counsel-- said that "the full Parliament is sovereign" and as such she granted the request. Later, she remarked that the decision to vote is not the responsibility of the chamber’s Executive Committee because with the full Parliament in session the only role of the Executive is to run the debate, but "the full Parliament is sovereign" and makes the final decision. "The rules are being scrupulously observed", she stated.

However, Forcadell's explanations did not convince the rest of the groups in the opposition, and gave way to a barrage of recriminations. Inés Arrimadas, leader of Ciudadanos, accused the Speaker of “blatantly ignoring the justice system" and warned that she cannot shun her responsibility: "To be the Speaker of Parliament means more than earning 120,000 euros a year", she snapped. Xavier García Albiol, leader of the PP, also accused the pro-independence faction of perpetrating an "attack against the rule of law", and announced that his group would not participate in the vote.

The full session, besides being tense, provided a handful of unprecedented images. First, the Speaker’s warning about the existence of the court’s injunction. Second, the two pro-independence groups making their disobedience clear despite the warning. Third, three members of the chamber’s Executive --José María Espejo Saavedra (C's), David Pérez (PSC), and Joan Josep Nuet (CSQP)-- distancing themselves from the decision that the full session should decide. Lluís Corominas, the Deputy Speaker of the Chamber, read a petition written to Forcadell by the parliament’s counsel in which they advised that it was necessary to give notice to the full Parliament of the injunction issued by the TC on July 19.

Once the issue of whether the vote would take place was resolved, a debate began on the study committee's conclusions. Once the president of the committee, Lluís Llach, had summarized their work, each individual groups took to the podium.

Marta Rovira (JxSí)

The spokeswoman for Junts pel Sí, Marta Rovira, backed the work of the constituent process committee and summarized some of its conclusions. Rovira, who directed her comments primarily to Catalunya Sí Que es Pot (Catalonia Yes We Can), stated that "it's a joke to think that Spain can be reformed", leading her to believe in the constituent process as the only possible way forward. In addition, she defended the social nature of the constituent process, which aims to unseat existing powers with measures such as the fight against energy poverty.

Inés Arrimadas (Ciudadanos)

From the speaker's rostrum, the leader of Ciudadanos stated that this Wednesday was, in her view, "a sad day for democracy". Inés Arrimadas stressed that the Parliament's decision, at the urging of JxSí and the CUP, "flagrantly violates a resolution of the Constitutional Court" and casts doubt on separation of powers. "The conclusions damage basic democratic principles", argued the leader of the orange party, and she hinted that the pro-independence forces are inspired by "anti-democratic regimes". "They are proposing a break with Spain, but they are disconnected from Catalonia. They are disconnected from reality", added Arrimadas, who also threw darts at the CUP for focusing more on independence than controlling corruption, and also at the Catalan National Assembly for its campaigns in recent days in favor of independence.

Miquel Iceta (PSC)

The Secretary General of the PSC, Miquel Iceta, said that this Wednesday's vote only serves to promote a "confrontation" between Catalan and Spanish institutions. "Today we are no closer to independence", he stressed. "You do not have the right to place this Parliament outside the law. It belongs to everyone, and nobody has the right to use it as they like, nor to trample on Catalonia’s Statute, which states that all our actions are protected by it and by the Constitution. We will not support you", noted Iceta, who announced that his group would not participate in the vote.

"We should not approve the conclusions because they expand on the 9N resolution, which has been annulled. To give a green light to the text goes against the July 19th TC injunction. It only aims to promote confrontation between this Parliament and the TC, a conflict that many of us do not want", noted the socialist leader, who did not deny the "legitimacy" of the pro-independence proposal. Iceta went on to stress that the 27-S elections did not produce a mandate because, in plebiscite terms, those in favor of a Catalan state did not exceed 50% of the vote. Iceta was very critical of the possibility of creating a constituent assembly "that would not be subject to any checks and balances”.

Joan Coscubiela (Catalunya Sí que es Pot)

The spokesman of Catalunya Sí que es Pot (CSQP) emphasized his group's commitment to the constituent process but argued that it did not share the plan laid out by Junts pel Sí and the CUP. "Today we see the first chapter of the question of confidence", claimed Coscubiela, making clear his view that, with last Wednesday's act of disobedience, the pro-independence coalition is seeking complicity with the anti-capitalist CUP to obtain their "Yes" to Puigdemont on September 28 when a vote of confidence will be held. "You get everyone all fired up in Catalonia while you reach agreements with the PP in Madrid", added the representative, who stressed that his group will vote "No" to the constituent process committee's conclusions.

Coscubiela called on Puigdemont to "join forces" in favor of a constituent process that breaks with the regime that emerged from the 1978 Transition, but refused to give “carte blanche" to the president of the Generalitat. "These conclusions confuse the constituent process with independence", added the CSQP spokesman. He noted that those in favor of independence are "weakening the majority needed" to continue down the path of the sovereignty process. Coscubiela lamented that "the path of the right to self-determination is all but gone".

Xavier Garcia Albiol (PP)

"This irresponsible provocation and attitude will not come without a price". This was the warning from Xavier Garcia Albiol, leader of the PP in the Catalan chamber, who put in the crosshairs the consequences of this disobedience of the TC for the pro-independence groups. "The forces of law will take action. Sooner or later, they will act", he stressed, adding that "intuition" tells him that it will happen sooner than later.

The leader of the Catalan PP accused JxSí and the CUP of carrying out an "anti-democratic" act that puts "self-government" at risk, and stated that the pro-independence majority in Parliament does not reflect a social majority in the streets. Indeed, Albiol even accused the pro-independence groups of "harming the liberty of Catalans who want to live in peaceful coexistence".

Gabriela Serra (CUP)

“Now the constituent process is out on the streets. No court of law will be able to stop it or us. Don’t waste your time with threats. You should know by now that we are not afraid”, were the words of CUP MP Gabriela Serra when she took the floor to argue the case for a unilateral independence referendum (UIR). She stressed that “it is the only way forward” in terms of the independence road map, ahead of the confidence vote scheduled for September 28 in the Catalan parliament.

Serra emphasised that “this radical separatist [referring to herself] is persuaded that there is no chance for the Catalan people’s right to self-determination to be recognised to any extent. We are determined to go down the path of disobedience. We wish to put an end to this endless independence process that sends us going round in circles. Any form of disobedience is unilateral: a few choose to disobey the rest, who think they have every right. This is about disobeying the 1978 Spanish regime, a regime born out of the ashes of the 1936 fascist uprising against a democratically-elected republic. We must build all sorts of sovereignties with the best interests of the working classes in mind”.