The Case of the Catalans by Clara Ponsati sampler
Imagine if your country voted to become independent and that vote was then ignored. This was what the people of Catalonia faced in 2017 when Catalonian pro-independence leaders organised a referendum vote that was declared illegal by Spain’s constitutional court. Following that declaration of the illegitimatcy of the referendum, Clara Ponsatí, Education Minister, along with Catalan Prime Minister Carles Puigdemont were charged with sedition. They had to leave Catalonia and go into self-imposed exile, and seven of their former cabinet colleagues were imprisoned. The Case of the Catalans is a landmark book that explains the injustice Catalans have faced by being marginalised with their political beliefs rendered unlawful by the Spanish government.In this book, Ponsatí and her team of influential academics discuss the future of the Catalan people and the political and social tensions that led to the famous ‘illegal’ referendum. In a clear and accessible style, they aim to educate as many people as possible, whether interested in politics or not, about the extraordinarily backward democratic process that currently defines Spain’s national identity and has defied the settled will of the Catalan people.
Imagine if your country voted to become independent and that vote was then ignored. This was what the people of Catalonia faced in 2017 when Catalonian pro-independence leaders organised a referendum vote that was declared illegal by Spain’s constitutional court.
Following that declaration of the illegitimatcy of the referendum, Clara Ponsatí, Education Minister, along with Catalan Prime Minister Carles Puigdemont were charged with sedition. They had to leave Catalonia and go into self-imposed exile, and seven of their former cabinet colleagues were imprisoned. The Case of the Catalans is a landmark book that explains the injustice Catalans have faced by being marginalised with their political beliefs rendered unlawful by the Spanish government.In this book, Ponsatí and her team of influential academics discuss the future of the Catalan people and the political and social tensions that led to the famous ‘illegal’ referendum. In a clear and accessible style, they aim to educate as many people as possible, whether interested in politics or not, about the extraordinarily backward democratic process that currently defines Spain’s national identity and has defied the settled will of the Catalan people.
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List <strong>of</strong> abbreviations<br />
and glossary<br />
ANC: Assemblea Nacional Catalana (Catalan National<br />
Assembly). Grassroots civic association that seeks <strong>the</strong><br />
political independence <strong>of</strong> Catalonia. Famous for holding<br />
mass demonstrations. Formed <strong>of</strong>ficially in March 2012,<br />
Carme Forcadell was its first President and was succeeded<br />
<strong>by</strong> Jordi Sànchez. Both are now in prison.<br />
AN: Audiencia Nacional (National Audience). A special<br />
Spanish penal court with no territorial ground established<br />
for cases <strong>of</strong> particular ‘national interest’. It was<br />
established in January 1977 to replace <strong>the</strong> Tribunal de<br />
Orden Público, Franco’s special court that prosecuted<br />
political dissidents under <strong>the</strong> dictatorship.<br />
Catalunya en Comú-Podem (Catalonia in Common-We<br />
Can!). Left-wing electoral coalition comprising Podem, <strong>the</strong><br />
Catalan Branch <strong>of</strong> Podemos, and Catalunya en Comú, a<br />
local grouping organised <strong>by</strong> Barcelona mayor Ada Colau.<br />
It includes Iniciativa per Catalunya-Verds (ICV), <strong>the</strong> successor<br />
to <strong>the</strong> Catalan communist PSUC. Between 2015 and 2017,<br />
<strong>the</strong>y ran under <strong>the</strong> name Catalunya Sí Que Es Pot (CSQEP).<br />
CEO: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinió (Centre for Opinion<br />
Studies). Survey opinion polls <strong>of</strong>fice run <strong>by</strong> <strong>the</strong> Catalan<br />
Government.<br />
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