Catalan independentism

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Catalan independentism is a political movement which supports the independence of Catalonia, and nowadays also commonly the whole Catalan Countries, from Spain and France.

The Estelada flag, in its blue and red versions, has become its main symbol.

1 History
2 Modern Independentism
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

The desire for independence in Catalonia is as at least as old as the Nueva Planta decrees, which tried to abolish the Catalan Constitutions in the year 1714.

The first political parties which started defining themselves as separatists were created between the 1920s and the 1930s in Spanish Catalonia. Some of these parties were: Estat Català, Bandera Negra, Nosaltres Sols or the Partit Català Proletari.

Official polls (1999-2005)

After the Spanish Civil War, the Front Nacional de Catalunya became the main pro-independence party. However, one might argue that modern Catalan independentism was actually born in the 1960s with the Partit Socialista d'Alliberament Nacional (PSAN). Since then, the pro-independence movement has assumed a mostly left-wing political trend and has shifted its focus from "independence for Catalonia" to "independence for the wider Catalan Countries". By the 1970s, the PSAN split into several factions, and many other groups appeared, including the armed organization Terra Lliure. In the 1980s, the Moviment de Defensa de la Terra became the major pro-independence political group but this too became divided by the end of the decade. During the 1990s, existing political parties such as Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and the linguistic-national initiative Crida a la Solidaritat progressively evolved towards a more pro-independence stance.

Víctor Alexandre's Jo no sóc espanyol (I'm not Spanish) is one of the most popular books related to Catalan independentism

[edit] Modern Independentism

In 2005, the only organization represented in a Parliament, such as the European or the Catalonian ones, that campaigns for independence is the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya.

Other present-day independentist parties or coalitions are Endavant, the PSAN, the MDT and the CUP. There are also youth sections such as the JERC, Maulets or the Coordinadora d'Assemblees de Joves de l'Esquerra Independentista, and a pair of students' organizations, CEPC and Alternativa Estel.

In recent years, there has been a noticeable expansion of Catalan independentism ideology. As example, the increasing publication of books about the topic. Several Catalan independentism arguments are also increasingly being supported by a wider political spectrum; for instance, with personalities such as the liberal economist Xavier Sala i Martín^{[citation needed]}.

In Spain, some consider this current rising may have been triggered as a reaction especially against the policy of the latter Spanish governments of the Partido Popular party, and the fierce opposition to certain legislative reforms such as the new proposal of Statute of Catalonia.