Two years ago, on October 27, 2017, the Parliament of Catalonia voted in favor of a resolution declaring independence from Spain. This was preceded by a referendum, which was recognized by the authorities of the kingdom as illegal. As a result, the region failed to secede - the organizers of the plebiscite received serious prison sentences of 9 to 13 years in prison.

On October 27, 2019, in Barcelona, ​​thousands of supporters of the country's unity organized a rally in favor of the territorial integrity of Spain. According to law enforcement agencies, 80 thousand people participated in the event. The organizer of the action was the Catalan Civil Society, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reports.

Along with this demonstration in Barcelona, ​​protest rallies were organized by supporters of the independence of Catalonia. The corresponding meeting was organized by "Committees in defense of the republic." Recall that the demonstrations of this particular movement often turn into riots.

The day before, activists of this organization also clashed with the police.

“On Saturday night in Barcelona, ​​a rally of thousands of supporters of the independence of Catalonia turned into a clash of law enforcement officers and individual elements of militancy at the building of the local police department,” The Guardian reporters write.

In response, the police were forced to use force against the demonstrators.

Previously, the city center "was paralyzed due to a 350,000-strong rally of supporters of independence, which took place in a predominantly peaceful environment." However, in the evening the situation changed.

“At around 19:30, another crowd began to gather at the police department. When its number, according to police estimates, reached about 10 thousand people, video footage recorded how bottles, balls and rubber bullets flew from the side of the protesters in the police, ”the publication said.

It is also noted that the police department of law enforcement “with arms and shields”, using 20 wagons, made an attempt to disperse the crowd, dividing it into two parts along the street.

According to the Spanish edition of El Pais, 44 people were injured in night riots in Barcelona.

Recall that the wave of protests in Spain began after the Spanish Supreme Court sentenced 12 former officials and public figures convicted of involvement in the organization of the referendum on independence in 2017 to prison terms and fines on October 14.

  • Catalan independence demonstrators in protest in Barcelona calling for the release of former autonomy leaders, October 26, 2019
  • Reuters
  • © Albert Gea

On October 18, more than 500 thousand people took to the streets of Barcelona, ​​some of which came from other cities of the autonomy.

On October 26, the vast majority of the mayors of Catalonia (814 out of 947) signed a document calling for the release of the former leaders of Catalonia and grant autonomy to self-determination. The head of the government of the autonomous community, Kim Torra, thanked them for their commitment to the “struggle for freedom,” but warned that “self-determination will not return,” reports El Pais.

According to Konstantin Voronov, head of the regional problems and conflicts department at IMEMO named after E. Primakov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the intentions of the Catalans to secede from Spain are more than serious.

“The people of Catalonia have gone far in their quest for self-identity. The mobilization of these sentiments was largely influenced by the economic crisis, as well as its negative consequences for autonomy, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

According to Voronov, most of the country's GDP falls on Catalonia, but the central authorities "rob" autonomy.

“The Catalans reasonably believe that this should not be, and their arguments are confirmed by facts. In addition, the inhabitants of Catalonia reasonably believe that their language is infringed, ”the analyst explained.

"Separate yourself from the actions of protesters"

According to experts, the Catalan authorities have not yet decided how to respond to the wave of protests.

According to El Pais, while the head of the Catalan government, Kim Torra, held protest marches and called for an investigation into the actions of the Spanish police during the incidents, his internal affairs adviser Mikel Buch supported the measures of the regional Mossos police, formally subordinate to the head of Catalonia, but in fact acting according to the instructions of the Spanish Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Torra behaved ambiguously when the unrest had just begun. On October 14, he supported the protesters and spoke out for an amnesty for the convicted organizers of the 2017 referendum.

However, two days later, during his televised address, he condemned the clashes of protesters with the police.

“The independence movement is not violent and should not fall into traps or succumb to provocations. Independence is creation, not destruction. It is not directed against anyone; it is to the benefit of all. Therefore, I ask you to remain calm, to be decisive, correct, and not to resort to violent methods, ”the politician said.

  • Catalan Prime Minister Kim Torra
  • Reuters
  • © Albert Gea

According to Ekaterina Cherkasova, senior researcher at the IMEMO RAS, Kim Torra supported mass unrest in support of political prisoners, but condemned the protesters as soon as they resorted to violent actions because he “wanted to dissociate himself from the actions of protesters, discrediting, as he believes, the national Catalan movement” .

“For many years in Catalonia, all the protests were extremely peaceful - the protesters were proud of it and said that they defend their idea exclusively by democratic methods. Now we see that the situation has changed and the left-wing radical youth in masks and black suits resorted to violence, ”said the analyst.

Cherkasova also added that in Catalonia, the political situation is "extremely unstable."

“There is no unity among the authorities of Catalonia. An autonomous government is formed by completely different political forces. These are supporters of Puigdemon, and the Left Republicans of Catalonia, and the left-wing party "The candidacy of popular unity." These political forces pursue various goals, and they are united only by the idea of ​​independence, but nothing more. And this explains the instability of the Catalan government, ”the expert explained.

In turn, Konstantin Voronov does not exclude that the situation in Catalonia may change.

"The separatists can strengthen, strengthen their positions around the central core, as soon as the center gives slack," said the analyst.

“Continue to maneuver”

Even after the first wave of rallies on October 18, the leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, Pedro Sanchez, urged protesters in Barcelona to avoid violence.

“The right to hold demonstrations must be applied in an absolutely peaceful manner,” El Pais quotes him.

At the same time, Sanchez emphasized that those responsible for illegal actions in Barcelona will be punished.

The question of a compromise between the Spanish authorities and the government of Catalonia Cherkasov calls "difficult." According to her, in order for the Spanish leadership to be able to take some action in this regard, Madrid “needs to have a responsible and stable government.”

“Sanchez is only the acting head of the minority government, which did not enjoy the confidence of the congress of deputies and was dissolved. Therefore, in Spain, and called for new elections. In the situation in which Sanchez is currently, he cannot do anything significant on the Catalan problem, since he does not enjoy the support of the parliament, ”the expert explained.

According to her, the Spanish authorities will be able to make any decisions on the Catalan problem only after a new government is formed.

According to Konstantin Voronov, the official Madrid “will continue to maneuver” in resolving the Catalan problem.

“Madrid will rush between the use of dosed force against protesters to scare the population and force them to not take part in protests, and persuasion at venues such as the OSCE,” the analyst said.

  • Leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party Pedro Sanchez
  • Reuters
  • © Sergio Perez

"The ideas of separatism spread throughout Europe"

Experts differently assess the prospects for the development of the situation in Catalonia.

So, Ekaterina Cherkasova believes that "the intensity of mobilization will steadily come to naught."

“The situation has a tendency to fade. When the separatist leaders were sentenced, according to the organizers, there were half a million, and now 300 thousand. If we compare the scale of the current protests with similar actions of 2014 and 2017, when the demonstrations in Barcelona and Catalonia gathered more than a million people, it will become clear that the current unrest in terms of the number of protesters is much smaller, ”the expert said.

Cherkasova emphasized that the upcoming general parliamentary elections in Spain scheduled for November 10 "will shift the attention of the population from such protest movements to the direct election campaign."

“At the peak of the mobilization there should be either some completely obvious results, or the wave will come to naught, since there are no results and are not expected. It is already clear that no street protests will lead to the annulment of the decision of the Supreme Court of Spain - these people are in custody and will serve it in accordance with the law, ”the analyst said.

  • Barcelona
  • Reuters
  • © Albert Gea

At the same time, Cherkasova suggested that the facts of violence by the Protestants in Barcelona testify to the attempt of “radically-minded youth” once again “to revive the protest movement”.

“Some of the activists, which, obviously, fought with law enforcement agencies, will be held criminally responsible,” the expert said.

However, according to Konstantin Voronov, "the ideas of separatism are now spreading throughout Europe," and the desire of the people of Catalonia to separate from Spain is part of this trend, which will only gain momentum.

“Even if at this stage the protest rallies for some reason, then after a while they will absolutely certainly be repeated again and on a larger scale, because the Spanish authorities have not resolved the problems that concern the Catalans. At the same time, the factor of the national identity of the Catalans intensifies in the context of the socio-economic crisis and the weakening of integration processes in the EU, ”the analyst predicted, adding that European countries will“ globally ”face the problem of nationalism and separatism in the near future.