BARCELONA,
Spain — Catalonia residents opposed to independence from Spain took to
the streets of Barcelona in large numbers on Sunday but struck a
moderate tone, with many saying they felt Catalan and Spanish — and
wanted to remain both.
Many
of those marching in favor of a unified Spain pledged to vote in the
Dec. 21 elections for a new Catalan Parliament, which were announced by
the Spanish prime minister on Friday when he stripped the Catalan government of its power.
The tone of the rally, much like the overall mood in Barcelona this weekend, was one of relief: The tensions
of recent weeks over the Oct. 1 referendum and the subsequent
retaliation by Spain’s central government appeared to have subsided. But
whether the mood has really shifted or whether Catalans were simply
resting and girding for the next confrontation was hard to tell.
“I
am Catalan with blood from Andalusia and Galicia — I don’t want an
independent Catalonia,” said Sandra Gonzalez, 37, one of the
demonstrators, who was bearing a handmade cardboard sign saying the
same. The reference was to two other regions of Spain.
“They
are trying to make me deny my roots,” Ms. Gonzalez said. “We have to
have a legal referendum and both groups here have to work together: not
only Spain, not only Catalonia.”
Ms.
Gonzalez echoed a feeling expressed by many that the independence drive
was dividing colleagues in the workplace, children in school and even
families whose members lean in different directions. “We are in the
middle and we feel bad,” she said.
Separatists,
who sponsored the referendum in Catalonia, Spain’s wealthiest region,
won it by a large margin. But many of the 7.5 million residents there
oppose independence and abstained after the Spanish Supreme Court deemed
the vote unconstitutional. That raised doubts about the credibility of a
vote in which there was not broad participation.
But
on Friday, the regional government led by Carles Puigdemont, who has
long called for a separate state, followed up the referendum results
with a declaration of independence.
In
response, Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, dissolved the regional
government, effectively ousting Mr. Puigdemont from office. He
announced elections for a new regional Parliament at the same time, in
part to try to quell fears of a takeover by the central government.
On Saturday, Mr. Puigdemont called for a peaceful “democratic opposition,” although it is not clear what that might mean.
In
the meantime, the region will be governed from Madrid. Most of those
working for the regional government will remain in their jobs, although
there are estimates that as many as 150 people will have to step down.
“The
idea is to maintain limited control over Catalonia, just until we can
carry out the Dec. 21 elections,” said Carmen Martínez Castro, Spain’s
secretary of state for communication. In a telephone interview she said:
“This is not a measure to clamp down on Catalan autonomy. It’s to
restore its legal autonomy.”
Mr.
Puigdemont has called on Catalans to engage in mass civil disobedience
in defiance of the central government takeover, and there are no signs
that he will step down anytime soon.
The
Catalan police, some of whom defied Madrid by refusing to clamp down on
the referendum, are also now officially under central government
control. They are supposed to stop former officials from going to work
on Monday.
While
polls suggest that the pro-unity parties demonstrating on Sunday will
have an edge in the December elections, the contest is close. A lot will
depend on what happens between now and December, said several people at
the rally on Sunday.
Most
said they were relieved that the Spanish government had called the
elections. The separatists can run, too, they noted, and both those who
support independence and those who oppose will cast ballots this time.
“If
they want a referendum, now we will have a real one in December and
we’ll see what happens,” said Arturo Esteban, 56, an economist at a
midsize security company.
Like many others who want the region to remain part of Spain, he did not vote in the October referendum because the Supreme Court had ruled that it was unconstitutional.
Some
pro-independence activists, however, said they might call on their
supporters to abstain from voting in the coming election — so its
credibility could also be undermined.
Many
of the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets on Sunday were
carrying or wrapped in Spanish, Catalan and European Union flags.
“Catalonia is Spain,” they chanted.
A
few chanted, “Puigdemont, go to jail.” But the overall atmosphere was
relaxed and few police officers could be seen other than those
patrolling to keep motorists off the streets surrounding the
demonstration.
The police estimated that there were 300,000 people at the rally. The organizers said there were 1.1 million.
Among
the younger enthusiasts for remaining part of Spain were teenagers who
said they were upset that the independence fight had divided classmates.
“If we are independent, it means we are only Catalan, we are not
Spanish,” said Gabriela Camina, 16. “Why should we have to choose one or
the other?”
Some accused schools of taking sides.
“We
are not even allowed to wear a bracelet to school with the Spanish
flag’s colors, but you can wear one with the independence colors,” Ms.
Camina said.
Ollala
de Mora, 16, said: “People in school are really against Spain. Our
teachers try to influence us. They say the Spain steals from us and the
government is bad. If you think differently from that, they try to
change your mind.”
The
students were upset that pro-independence classmates view them as
fascists — a grave insult here — for wanting the region to remain part
of Spain. The word calls to mind the period under Franco, the dictator
who brutally repressed Spain’s regions from 1939 until his death in
1975.
Catalonia, which strongly resisted Franco, was treated with particular harshness by his government.
“If
they saw me bringing this flag to school, they would say, ‘Are you
fascist?’” Ms. de Mora said, referring to the Spanish flag several of
her classmates were wearing. It is yellow and red with the Spanish royal
coat of arms in the middle.
“I feel I cannot show my Spanish feelings,” she said.
