The 2012 Catalan independence demonstration was a protest which occurred in central Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, on 11 September 2012 during the National Day of Catalonia. The protestors demanded the independence of Catalonia and its establishment as a sovereign state under the slogan "Catalonia, new state in Europe" (). It was organized by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and headed together with the Association of Municipalities for Independence as the most prominent of a series of events known as "March towards Independence" () which began on 30 June 2012 in Lleida.
The estimated number of participants ranges widely, from 600,000 people quoted by some media, statisticians such as Llorenç Badiella from the Autonomous University of Barcelona or the delegation of the Spanish government in Catalonia to 1.5 million according to Catalan public sources such as Barcelona's Municipal Police or Catalonia's Department of the Interior, with a maximum estimate of about 2 million according to the organizers.
The city centre was crowded for hours and it was feared that the massive influx of people was going to bring mobile phone networks to a standstill. Many newspapers and other news agencies described it as a "historic" demonstration and considered it to be the biggest protest march ever held in Catalonia since the restoration of democracy in Spain, surpassing other major demonstrations, including the 2010 Catalan autonomy protest.
Background
The 2010 Catalan autonomy protest was a demonstration held in central Barcelona on 10 July 2010 against the limits set to the autonomy of Catalonia within Spain, and particularly against a then recent decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court to annul or reinterpret several articles of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia. The estimates regarding the number of people taking part in the demonstration ranged widely, from 425,000 estimated by some media to 1.1 million according to the local police, with a maximum estimate of 1.5 million according to the organisers.. A private company specialising in reporting demonstration attendance numbers, Lynce, made an estimate of 56,000–74,400 by measuring a single street at 20h30, 15 minutes after the demonstration had finished, judging from the circumstances and other estimates in the hundreds of thousands, this was likely a gross understimate.
The mobilisation was described as "unprecedented" by the mayor of Barcelona.. Barcelona daily El Periódico de Catalunya described it as "without a doubt one of the biggest protest marches that have ever occurred in Catalonia, and possibly the biggest".
The demonstration was led by a banner with the Catalan slogan Som una nació. Nosaltres decidim. (in English, "We are a nation. We decide.").
Changes in government Several analysts believe that the demonstration on 10 July was a turning point in relations between Catalonia and Spain. An election to the Catalan Government was held on 28 November 2010 with Artur Mas (CiU) emerging as president.
A general election was held in Spain the following year in which the People's Party won an absolute majority with 187 of the 350 seats in the chamber. Party leader Mariano Rajoy was sworn in as president of the Spanish Tenth Legislature shortly afterwards.
Public response Catalonia saw several local referendums for independence take place in hundreds of villages between 13 September 2009 and April 2011, with an overwhelming number of "yes" votes being cast. However, turnout was low at 27.41%.
Several citizens' initiatives arose in 2011 and 2012 in response to perceived slights by Spain, such as the No vull pagar ("I don't want to pay") campaign, which protested against toll fees by private companies present in Catalonia that were seen as abusive compared with those in other parts of Spain. The protest began in early April 2012 in Catalonia, with minor extensions in Valencia and the Balearic Islands by the following month.Campanya Diem Prou
At an institutional level, several municipalities of Catalonia came together to create the Associació de Municipis per la Independència ("Association of Municipalities for Independence"), an organisation officially established on 14 December 2011 in Vic which brings local organisations together to further the national rights of Catalonia and promote its right to self-determination.
Support for independence
+ Institution/media Date Yes (%) No (%) Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas 1996Question (in Spanish) : Personalmente, ¿estaría Ud. a favor o en contra de que Cataluña fuera independiente? 33.6 53.5 Institut de Ciències Polítiques i Socials 2011Sondeig d'opinió Catalunya 2011 41.4 22.9 El Periódico de Catalunya Jan 2012 53.6 32.0 Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió March 2012Baròmetre d'Opinió Política 44.6 24.7 Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió June 2012Baròmetre d'Opinió Política 51.1 21.1 Diari Ara Jul 2012 50.4 23.8 Telecinco (GESOP) Sep 2012 50.9 18.6
Changes in support for independence in Catalonia through time can be seen by comparing the results of a survey conducted by Spain's Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas in 1996, which asked: "Personally, would you support or reject Catalonia becoming independent?" with more recent surveys carried out in 2011 and 2012, revealing the level of support in a referendum on the independence of Catalonia.
Controversies On 29 August 2012 the Government of Catalonia requested access to the Spanish fund liquidity to finance debt maturities, while warning the Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy, that it would not accept the imposition of "political conditions".El rescat: 5.023 milions This led many Spanish politicians to make controversial statements, such as President of La Rioja Pedro Sanz, who said that "they have the gall to ask [for money] and then keep their television channels and embassies".El president de La Rioja: "S'ha de tenir morro per demanar i després tenir televisió o ambaixades" 324.cat 31 August 2012 President of the Community of Madrid Esperanza Aguirre claimed that "Catalonia receives more money than Madrid",Esperanza Aguirre critica que Catalunya rebi més diners que la Comunitat de Madrid 324.cat, 31 August 2012 while President of Galicia Alberto Núñez Feijoo said that "today Galicia pays and Catalunya asks".Ribeira Feijóo: "Avui paga Galícia i Catalunya demana" 324.cat, 29 August 2012 The recent publication of studies regarding in-depth economical analysis of the first detailed budgetary and expenditure figures ever provided by the Central Government reached the conclusion that Catalonia was both the autonomous community supporting more taxes yet receiving the smallest returns or investments, a situation that didn't even compare to any other European region. Sustainability as an independent state was shown to be more than feasible in at least one paper published by CatDem, CDC's think tank, although it was ignored by most of the Spanish press. The paper in question focused on the strength of a hypothetical independent Catalonia ceteris paribus, without incorporating to the analysis likely consequences of secession, such as not being a member of the EU or market share loss in the rest of Spain for Catalan products. On 30 August, EC President José Manuel Durão Barroso acknowledged that "in the hypothetical case that Catalonia secedes, a solution should be found and negotiated within the framework of international laws". One day later he made clear that any region becoming independent from an EU member state would automatically leave the EU itself. On 2 September, citizens throughout Catalonia changed the name of several squares called Plaça d'Espanya ("Spain Square") to Plaça de la Independència ("Independence Square"). The event was held in 40 municipalities, such as Barcelona, Mataró, Torroella de Montgrí, Roda de Ter and Tàrrega. On 3 September, the town halls of Sant Pere de Torelló and Calldetenes passed a motion in favour of the independence of Catalonia, proclaiming themselves "Free Catalan Territory". Their aim was to urge the Government and Parliament of Catalonia to assume sovereignty over the Catalan territory. A few days before, retired Spanish army colonel Francisco Alamán Castro said that "the basis of Catalan nationalism is a hatred of Spain" and warned "not to wake up the lion, as it has already given enough proof of its ferocity". Regarding the action by Sant Pere de Torelló, Alamán said "This is clearly an act of treason as set out in the Spanish Penal Code. Therefore, if the plenary approved this atrocity, we should immediately arrest both the mayor and the councillors who voted for the proposal ". Alamán had been retired since 2003, hence the Spanish Defence Ministry deemed the outburst as Alamán's personal opinion only.
Demonstration
Institutional events During the morning, like every year, wreaths were laid on the monument to Rafael Casanova in Barcelona's Ronda Sant Pere. An official ceremony was then held in Parc de la Ciutadella where, according to government spokesman Francesc Homs, "our national sentiment" and especially "the Catalan language, after the recent attacks" would be celebrated. The event was led by playwright John Ollé and emceed by the previous director of the Catalan public TV, journalist Mònica Terribas. The official ceremony began with a parade by the Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra. Then, the town Capmany—symbolising the "fight against fire" after its comarca of Alt Empordà suffered a serious wildfire this summer—delivered the Catalan flag to President Artur Mas.
During the ceremony, several local bands played songs and read poems by Catalan authors. Portuguese singer Maria de Medeiros performed as guest artist, singing a poem by Ausiàs March, a Valencian medieval author. The Government also commemorated several anniversaries, including those of Antoni Maria Alcover, Montsalvatge, Eduard Toldrà and Pere Calders. The official image of the National Day was a reproduction of the painting The Catalan Spirit (1971), by Antoni Tàpies.
Route The march officially began at the intersection of Gran Via and Passeig de Gràcia (near Plaça de Catalunya) at 6:00 pm, descending Pau Claris street to the Via Laietana, finally ending, near the Parliament of Catalonia building in the Parc de la Ciutadella, at the intersection of Marquès de l'Argentera street and Passeig de Picasso, where a stage was set up. Núria de Gispert, the President of the Catalan Parliament, received a delegation from the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), the organisers of the march, who called for the process leading to secession from Spain to be started.BATALLER, Marc, L'ANC ja té prop de 400 autocars emparaulats, El Punt Avui 31 August 2012
Organisation A banner with the slogan "Catalonia: New European State" led the march. The banner was presented on 5 September in the central Plaça Catalunya, the same day that Carme Forcadell, in the press conference for the presentation, said "The people are prepared, and we need the government and our institutions to take a step forward, because we want a free and sovereign country, we want independence."La manifestació amb més autocars de la història Vilaweb, 5 September 2012
The banner was carried by 10 representatives of the territorial regions of the ANC and by 10 representatives of the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI). Directly behind them was the president of the ANC, Carme Forcadell and the vicepresident, Carles Castellanos. They were accompanied by Joan Rigol and Ernest Benach. The third group was formed by a group of representatives of both the ANC and the AMI.