A Sad Day for Spain
By Claudio Sales Palmero
Yesterday was a sad day. The Spanish Government showed a total incomprehension of the socio-political climate in Catalonia. It is absurd that they thought 50% of the population could be stopped with police forces and, even more so if they believed that they could achieve this without violence and without giving the campaigners for independence a picture of police brutality that would confirm their most hurtful accusations.
If the Government knew that this would be the outcome and carried on regardless, they have proved themselves to be brutal and if that was not the plan, they have shown themselves up as incompetent and out of touch with reality.
It was well established that the referendum did not have legitimacy. It might have been annoying to see it taking place, despite all legal warnings, but it would not have had any recognition. It would have been one more statistic, one more element to use, by both sides, according to their powers of persuasion, in favor or against, in the political debate.
Now the Catalan Government will do everything possible to capitalize on this inept intervention in order to win sympathy to their cause.
However, the Spanish Government has placed itself, by its own actions, in a defensive position, having to explain to the world an intervention that, no matter what reason they put forward, will always be that of use of force against the peaceful resistance of citizens.
A great and incomprehensible error of judgment!
My apologies to all Catalans,
FORM-Idea Valencia, 2nd October 2017. Read in Spanish
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