COVID-19 Reinstates Catalan Desire To Separate From Spain

Photo illustration of a protest in Catalunya (Kylli Kittus / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Catalan separatists are using the COVID-19 crisis as a new motive for arguing over its independence from Spain. Some have publicly said the pandemic would have caused fewer deaths had the rich northeast split off from Spain.

Reported by Reuters on Thursday, April 30, Catalunya is the area that has the highest number of deaths due to COVID-19 after Madrid. Separatists say the central government should make tougher rules and lockdown earlier.

They also complained that centralized purchases of masks and other medical equipment made them difficult to obtain. "Spain is (a country) of unemployment and death. Catalonia is alive and (has) a future," said Barcelona Chamber of Commerce chairman Joan Canadell.

Meritxell Budo, a spokesman for the Local Government also angered many in Spain. At a time when Spain faced the fact that it was third for the highest death toll from COVID-19 in the world, he made matters worse by saying there would not be 'so many deaths' in Catalonia if they were not with Spain.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 in Spain stands at 24,275, of which 4,905 are in Catalonia. The health crisis has turned Spanish politics upside down, displacing Catalan separatism as a dominant theme in recent years.

However, the 2017 declaration of independence sparked a major crisis and is still very much on everyone's mind. The regional leaders in Catalonia still hope that Catalonia will stand on its own.

"The pandemic shows the need for a (Catalonia) state," said Marta Vilalta, Deputy Secretary General of the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) Party.

Vilalta thought that if he could act alone, Catalonia would have been much better off. He also criticized the centralization of health services in Madrid for exacerbating the situation. Catalonia alone has a population of 7.5 million out of 47 million in all of Spain. The region has its own language, Catalan and is second only to Madrid in GDP contribution.

The Catalan government carried out a complete lockdown of the territory on March 13. Two days later, the government said only essential workers could leave the house. Spanish Prime Minister (PM) Pedro Sanchez issued a national lockdown on March 14 but did not ban non-essential work until March 30. "Spain keeps making mistakes," said Catalan regional secretary Miquel Buch.

47.1 percent of Catalan people oppose independence and 44.9 percent support, according to a poll conducted between February 10 and March 9 by the Catalan government agency.

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Catalan separatist grassroots organizations have urged protests to demand a stricter lockdown and reject the presence of military personnel in Catalonia who are helping to fight the coronavirus. Miquel Iceta, a Spanish politician who opposes Catalan independence, said the need for the Spanish and Catalan governments to continue bilateral talks disrupted by the pandemic.

Iceta also warned that Catalonia's systematic confrontation with the Spanish government was not helping. Joan Esculies, professor of history at the Open University of Catalunya, said protests from separatists were predictable but risky because the Catalan government is also struggling in some aspects, such as the COVID-19 outbreak in nursing homes. He hopes the number of people for or against independence will not change much after the pandemic.