Spanish Political News

[Anudder Oik]

Isn't about 1/5 of Catalonia in France? Anyone got any idea how the Catalans who live in France feel about independence? Do they even consider themselves Catalans?

I'll ask, but knowone has been talking about that territory. It's France, and although historically they have shared catalan language and culture I don't think they are participating.

 

[Anudder Oik]

Tractor motorcades supporting the referendum arrived today in various big cities. A noisy lot.

 

[sim667]

Isn't about 1/5 of Catalonia in France? Anyone got any idea how the Catalans who live in France feel about independence? Do they even consider themselves Catalans?

The younger generation of my french side of the family are French Catalan, and their area is not participating in the referendum (if it actually happens).

People there aren't as profoundly proud to be Catalan but there are definitely still influences, the support the Catalan Dragons Rugby team (Rugby is quite a big thing) and my Cousin's other half is only allowed to teach and Catalunya as she has qualified in teaching in the Catalan language not the French language. That said its rare you'll here Catalan being spoken day to day on the French side, its much more common on the Spanish side, and I've never seen Castells in France (I'm sure it happens), but I've seen it plenty of times on the Spanish side (its a remarkable thing to watch, I'd actually like to go and photograph it sometime).

Anyway, saw this old propaganda poster just pop up on reddit.

 

[Anudder Oik]

Manuel Gomez martin, councillor for the PP in Huelva, Spain has said publicly the following

"Call me what you want but at this stage of the conflict I want to see the Police and guardia civil giving people a good kicking".

Un edil del PP en Huelva defiende que la Policía de "hostias como panes" en Catalunya

Here is a catalan protest uploaded a few minutes ago, which contrasts with how that politician sees events here.

 

[Anudder Oik]

The occupation of electoral colleges has begun already, ahead of the referendum on sunday and the planned closing by the spanish state this evening.

The idea is for there to be organized activities in the schools and buildings all weekend.

Comencen a ocupar les primeres escoles per defensar l’1-O

 

[Anudder Oik]

An (LIVE) interactive map of the occupations

Mapa de l'1-O: Què està passant als col·legis electorals?

Photogallery of the occupations

Fotos: Acampadas en colegios de Barcelona

According to the spanish state and the right wing press, any children you see here are human shields.

 

[teqniq]

Police seal off 1,300 polling stations in Catalonia, resistance continues

 

[Pickman's model]

Police seal off 1,300 polling stations in Catalonia, resistance continues

la lucha continua

 

[planetgeli]

la lluita continua

 

[tim]

Ah, I the narcissism of small differences!

 

[Anudder Oik]

Catalans tell it how it is in English.

 

[Anudder Oik]

Today, the day before the referendum, the reaction has mobilized all over Spain. mainly small gatherings of bitter people. Madrid in Cibeles square was larger than most.
The one this morning in barcelona was small and full of hate, they hit someone walking past.

Right now there is a bigger extreme right wing demonstration making it's way thru Barcelona's Via Laietana. I think they have bussed people in from outside Catalonia although there are quite a few reactionaries living here,too.

What they want is not unity but domination and subjugation of a people who they despise for wanting to be free. The Catalans have an historical claim to independence which stretches back hundreds of years. They are sick of being treated unfairly by a reactionary bi-party system which organizes infrastructure and investment, not along logical economic lines but along ideological ones. Madrid is the centre and everything radiates from there, even the so called meditarranean corridor, which is supposed to be an export route somehow passes hundreds of miles inland. Catalonia is always overlooked.

 

[Anudder Oik]

Fascists in Barcelona right now. The flag with DN is (democracia nacional) a neo nazi organization. Activists will need to double security at the occupied schools tonite.



Solidarity with Independence from the Basque country

 

[Pickman's model]

Madrid would be better off if they'd said have your vote, it means nothing, instead of galvanising opinion in catalonia.

 

[planetgeli]

Madrid could have let this vote go, the outcome was almost certain 99% defeat. I don't fully understand why (anyone?) the Spanish government have gone to this extreme to antagonise the Catalan yes vote and add it extra strength. If they get burning and rioting in the streets tomorrow, let alone a few fascists heads broken (not all bad then) they only have themselves to blame.

 

[cupid_stunt]

It's bat crazy, the polls suggested a 'no' vote, so the Spanish government are acting like cunts.

 

[Anudder Oik]

It's bat crazy, the polls suggested a 'no' vote, so the Spanish government are acting like cunts.

They are cunts and only know how to act like cunts, they've been antagonistic with Catalonian aspirations for years. Their tactic certainly has backfired. I know people who weren't going to bother to vote but now are determined.

I'm following a live feed of Barcelona at the moment and starting to feel sick, hundreds of fascists in Plaza Sant Jaume chanting "A por ellos, ole". Go get em- Ole, a nod to the police to dish out beatings. It got good a few minutes ago as the City hall started to play Sardanas Music really loud and drowned them out, so they stopped chanting and just stood there staring, stupified. Music's gone now and they're all chanting their shit again.

 

[Dogsauce]

Does the Spanish government not benefit somehow by grandstanding about it all? How does it play with the rest of the country? Or is it a useful distraction from other domestic affairs?

 

[planetgeli]

Does the Spanish government not benefit somehow by grandstanding about it all? How does it play with the rest of the country? Or is it a useful distraction from other domestic affairs?

They are creating unnecessary further division. It can only be seen how they hold Catalunya in utter contempt when there was no need to do this.

 

[kebabking]

its car crash tv...

i sit here utterly stunned that anyone could be so politically inept - do the Spanish government really not understand the risks they are running when people see polling stations closed and ballot boxes confiscated?

i have no emotional attachment to Catalan independence or Spanish unity - i really couldn't give a shit either way - only one word leaps to mind when i see the actions of the Spanish government/state: Yugoslavia.

 

[tim]

Madrid could have let this vote go, the outcome was almost certain 99% defeat. I don't fully understand why (anyone?) the Spanish government have gone to this extreme to antagonise the Catalan yes vote and add it extra strength. If they get burning and rioting in the streets tomorrow, let alone a few fascists heads broken (not all bad then) they only have themselves to blame.

The British Secret Services have blackmailed the political leadership into taking a hardline. GCHQ have all their communications, the City have helped them stash all money they've stolen in British tax havens. Meanwhile M. I. 6 have been doing all the footwork. Whatever the outcome this will take the pressure of Brexit and make European realignment easier; and I'm sure there's more to come across Europe and in the next few months. The Russians are such amateurs leaving their fingerprints everywhere

 

[J Ed]

The British Secret Services have blackmailed the political leadership into taking a hardline. GCHQ have all their communications, the City have helped them stash all money they've stolen in British tax havens. Meanwhile M. I. 6 have been doing all the footwork. Whatever the outcome this will take the pressure of Brexit and make European realignment easier; and I'm sure there's more to come across Europe and in the next few months. The Russians are such amateurs leaving their fingerprints everywhere

Why would the British secret services need to blackmail a right-wing Spanish Nationalist government into opposing Catalan secessionism?

 

[planetgeli]

Why would the British secret services need to blackmail a right-wing Spanish Nationalist government into opposing Catalan secessionism?

Point taken but its not a simple opposition to Catalan secessionism is it. It's a denial of a democratic vote, that secessionism was virtually certain to lose.

Beyond vile hatred for Catalunya, it makes little to no sense.

 

[J Ed]

Point taken but its not a simple opposition to Catalan secessionism is it. It's a denial of a democratic vote, that secessionism was virtually certain to lose.

Beyond vile hatred for Catalunya, it makes little to no sense.

Anti-secessionism is a constant of the ideology of the PP (and PSOE), the Madrid government still does not recognise the independence of Kosovo for example.

 

[tim]

Why would the British secret services need to blackmail a right-wing Spanish Nationalist government into opposing Catalan secessionism?

Why would any government, however right wing, and willingly behave as stupidly as this one?

 

[J Ed]

Why would any government, however right wing, and willingly behave as stupidly as this one?

So let me get this straight... Mi5 are blackmailing the Spanish government into opposing an independent Catalonia except really badly?

 

[planetgeli]

Anti-secessionism is a constant of the ideology of the PP (and PSOE), the Madrid government still does not recognise the independence of Kosovo for example.

I don't deny this.

But to deny a democratic vote that was going to go in the PP's favour...that's something else.

 

[tim]

So let me get this straight... Mi5 are blackmailing the Spanish government into opposing an independent Catalonia except really badly?

M.I.6 not M.I.5.

 

[J Ed]

Oh o.k. makes sense now

 

[kebabking]

drugs are bad, m'kay...