Changes to ID, protection of devolved powers, Catalan language official in Madrid: what Podemos’ plurinational Spain looks like

Podemos’ counteroffer to the PSOE devotes six pages to describing, for the first time ever, their policies to entice Catalan separatists

MARIONA FERRER I FORNELLS Madrid
5 min
Ada Colau, Pablo Iglesias i Íñigo Errejón han acompanyat Xavier Domènech en un míting a l'Hospitalet / PERE VIRGILI

Podemos’ manifesto for the Spanish elections of December 20 only mentioned the word “plurinational” six times. Their counteroffer to the PSOE’s proposal —which Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias unveiled on Monday— mentions the word 31 times and that’s not including the index. So what has happened in the short three months between the presentation of the party’s manifesto and now?

Firstly, Podemos and its Catalan affiliate (En Comú Podem) —which ran as two separate slates in the Spanish election— are now submitting a joint proposal, together with En Marea, Podemos’ partner in Galicia.

En Comú Podem was tasked with drafting Podemos’ policies on building a plurinational Spain. Following Gemma Ubasart’s resignation as secretary general of Podemos in Catalonia —she was also head of the party’s committee for Plurinationality—, Xavier Domènech (En Comú Podem) and Podemos MP Raimundo Viejo took over her job in the interim. Whomever is eventually elected to the job of secretary general will also lead Podemos’ committee for Plurinationality.

Secondly, it is an attempt —according to sources within Podemos— to differentiate their policies from the PSOE’s, which has repeatedly denied any chance of an independence referendum in Catalonia.

Pablo Iglesias has chosen to put together a deliberately ambitious counteroffer which, for the first time ever, describes what the plurinational Spain which they proposed during the election campaign should look like. On January 22, Podemos took the socialist party by surprise with a proposal to form “a coalition government for change” which would include the PSOE, Podemos and Izquierda Unida. Spain’s regional issues would be handled by a ministry of Plurinationality, which would be led by Xavier Domènech, of En Comú Podem.

Podemos’ counteroffer to the PSOE outlines, for the first time, what that ministry would be tasked with. Furthermore, it describes over six pages what policies Podemos would support with a view to “enticing” Catalan separatists. What follows is an overview.

Constitutional recognition. Changing article 2

How could Spain’s plurinational nature be guaranteed? By enshrining it in the Constitution, as Bolivia did in 2009. Podemos believes that one of the main problems is the fact that “the nations in Spain were made subservient to the construction of a nation-state based mostly on a single identity”. Therefore, it proposes changing article 2 of the Spanish Constitution so that the plurinational reality and diversity of political communities in Spain is recognised and respected. On this point, the document does not state whether the status of historic nation would be exclusive of Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country. Podemos’ Andalusian branch has already demanded the same rights for Andalusia as Catalonia would have.

Referendum. An “essential” vote

A legally binding referendum prior to a constitutional reform: this is what Podemos regards as “essential” to solve the feud between Catalonia and Spain. They invoke the powers of article 92 of the Constitution to hold the vote “with full democratic, legal and logistic guarantees”. Catalans would answer a “single, unambiguous” question with a view to “ascertain their preference on the political future of Catalonia”. This is the first time that a Podemos document regards holding a referendum in Catalonia as “essential”.

In November 2015 Podemos had to amend their political platform at the eleventh hour to include the word “referendum”. Their general manifesto for the regional elections did not mention it, even if Pablo Iglesias did bring it up at the Vistalegre foundational assembly, albeit in the context of a constitutional process in all of Spain. Back then, Podemos’ leadership claimed that a binding referendum was not possible unless the Constitution was amended first.

Full protection of devolved powers. Avoding recentralisation policies and reforming the Constitutional Court

Madrid will not be allowed to take back any of a region’s devolved powers without the prior consent of the regional government backed by a substantial parliamentary majority. According to the draft, “these changes should prevent further loss of devolved powers and stop the recentralisation policies implemented by the Spanish government in recent years”. It also proposes creating a Court of Arbitration to solve disputes between Madrid and the regional governments, as well as a reform of the General Council of the Judiciary and the Constitutional Court so that Spain’s regions may have a say in the appointment of its members.

Protection of language diversity. The Catalan language would have official status in all of Spain

Children should be able to say “good morning”, “hello” or “thank you” in the four languages that have official status in Spain. This is one of Podemos’ proposals to protect “Spain’s language and cultural diversity” by means of a review of the national curriculum. The subjects of history and social science should teach about the evolution of the Spanish territories and every school should teach one other language besides Spanish (this subject would be elective).

But Podemos want to push the envelope by proposing that Spanish, Catalan, Basque and Galician become official in all of Spain and that they may be used in any institution and any act by the central administration. For instance, when filling in a form or addressing a court of law. Furthermore, all four languages should be present in mass media, both public and private.

Symbolic elements. An ID that “recognises plurinationality”

Podemos’ document includes an unspecific point: “promoting symbolic elements that facilitate the recognition of Spain’s plurinational nature in official documents”. On Monday Xavier Domènech explained that this would involve, for instance, new ID cards and passports that “recognise plurinationality”, as well as motor vehicle registration plates and national sports teams. This is a bold proposal, if you consider that the PSOE does not recognise Catalonia as a nation.

A Ministry for Plurinationality tasked with holding the referendum

This is the crux of the matter. All initiatives to turn Spain into a plurinational country will stem from this ministry. Podemos’ Ministry for Plurinationality should guarantee not only a referendum in Catalonia but that the various Spanish nations are “treated equally”. Likewise, it would ensure that “all devolved powers, as well as cultural and language rights” are fully protected to build, ultimately, a new territorial model. This ministry would absorb the powers of the old Ministry of Public Administrations and would include two deputy ministers: one for Plurinationality and another for Local Government.

One of the ministry’s strategic goals would be to create a new framework of cooperation between the State and its nations through a Cooperation Council.

New regional funding system. Maintaining “territorial equity”

Podemos’ proposal seeks to balance the current uniform finance system with the principle of ordinality, whereby regions that contribute the most to Spain’s coffers should also receive the largest cash transfers. However, it is unclear whether Catalonia’s funding would be proportional to its contribution. The document does state that “insufficient funding should not become a hurdle for a region’s full development of its devolved powers”. For instance, the Catalan government should not miss any payments to pharmacies or cut its spending on education and healthcare because Madrid has failed to provide adequate funding.

On the subject of investment, Podemos argues for “a multi-hub transport network to replace the existing centralised model that converges on Madrid”. In other words, they aim to put an end to centralised transport infrastructure where all railway lines must necessarily go through Madrid.

Scrap all provincial administrations except in the Basque Country

This is the only proposal on which Podemos and Ciudadanos agree. They favour the elimination of province-level administrations because they believe them to be “dysfunctional” and “a product of the State’s centralist mindset”. They advocate transferring all their powers to the regional governments, except in the Basque Country.

Reforming the Senate. Mediating between the regions and the Spanish government

Podemos no longer propose scrapping the Senate, but transforming it into “a true chamber of territorial representation, such as Germany’s Bundesrat”. Its job would be to debate and pass bills that concern the regions, spearhead and lead their participation in the EU and intervene in the drafting of the budget to determine the funds that must be transferred to the regions, as per the existing finance system.

Regional constituencies. All Catalan MPs should be elected in a single constituency rather than many small ones

Right from the start, Podemos proposed a new electoral system of a proportional nature: one person, one vote. Furthermore, they advocate getting rid of provincial constituencies and adopting a single constituency per region. In other words, each party would run as a single slate in all of Catalonia, instead of four separate ones (Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona and Lleida). It would be up to each political party to decide how its representatives are ordered on this single slate according to their place of origin.

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