Soares irritates Madrid by defending right to decide

LisbonThe Catalan bid for self-determination has a supporter in Mario Soares, former Portuguese president and founder of the Portuguese Socialist Party. He made this clear again yesterday. "It’s up to the Catalans to say" if they have the right to decide their own political future, said Soares yesterday to ARA, before taking center stage in an event in Lisbon, organized by his own foundation, on "the historic background and future prospects in Catalonia". This event included the unexpected appearance of an irritated Information Officer from the Spanish Embassy in Portugal, Ramón Iribarren.

The speaker for the talk was Manuel Manonelles, Director General for Multilateral and European Affairs of the Generalitat, and “a friend” to Soares. Manonelles reviewed the history of Catalonia and the reasons that have led to the rise of the sovereignty movement. The Catalan executive welcomed the two representatives from the Spanish embassy who were present in the room, and invited them to participate in the debate. And they took him at his word.

After spending the entire conference taking notes, Iribarren, who used to work for the Spanish Royal Family as media relations officer, asked for a representative of the PSC or other party against independence to also hold a conference in the space to give their version. He also spoke about the "egotism of the richest region in Spain", in reference to Catalonia. Manonelles was "delighted" with the suggestion and suggested that the Soares foundation take note of the request and invite a defender of Spain’s unity. "The debate must stop being about whether or not we can vote. We must talk about whether independence is good for Catalonia", said Manonelles.

Both Iribarren and the other Embassy councilor who accompanied him looked very stern throughout the presentation. Their seriousness lightened for a moment when a Galician resident in Lisbon spoke up and lamented the "shame" of Jordi Pujol "stealing so much". The Spanish representatives smiled at this.

Soares assured that Portugal "owes its independence to Catalonia", because, according to him, the troops of Philip IV of Spain were focused on Catalonia and "left Portugal alone". The ex-president is considered one of the most important political figures in Portugal. In spite of his advanced age --he turned 90 years old on Sunday-- he is still very active and continues to publish books and articles.

In fact, one of Soares’ articles that had the greatest impact was on the Catalan sovereignty process. In November, the ex-president wrote an article in the Portuguese newspaper Público in which he stated that "Catalonia has been mistreated by Mariano Rajoy, a fact which has bolstered the demonstrations that Catalans have always carried out, incidentally, in a peaceful manner". He also recognized Artur Mas as a "respected figure not only in Catalonia but also in the rest of Spain and in Portugal". Artur Mas himself also wrote an article in Público, weeks later, titled "Why can’t Catalonia vote?" in which he highlighted the "unique and exemplary participative process" of 9N, and demanded "a legal referendum, like those in Scotland and Quebec".

Commercial ties

Catalonia is the Spanish region with the most commercial and economic relations with Portugal, above even those of the border regions Galicia and Extremadura. It is not a coincidence that, together with Morocco, Portugal is one of the obligatory institutional visits for newly elected presidents of the Generalitat. Everything seems to indicate that the debate over Catalonia will endure in Portugal.