Antoni Bassas' analysis: 'The Pride and Obstacle of October 1st'

Today is October 1st, and for millions of Catalans, that October 1st eight years ago is and will always be unforgettable, with its simultaneous presence of police violence and the defense of the ballot boxes and computer programs, of hope and anxiety, of uncertainty and conviction, of fear and hope.

But the memory of a historic day also brings with it the memory of its consequences. And the memory is painful. The expectations of the historic moment were as high as the frustration that followed in the wake of its failure. A frustration compounded by state repression and the division of the independence movement, plus the revelations that this division undermined a project as ambitious as independence from the start.

That's why, today, barely eight years after that day, October 1st is a nuisance. Of course, it bothers the repressive state, initially incredulous that millions of Catalans would think and act on their own, and later frightened by the evidence that they had to work to prevent something they had never considered, such as Catalan independence. And, in fact, the repression still endures, with the Supreme Court refusing to apply an amnesty approved by Congress. But October 1st is also uncomfortable for the pro-independence parties, who know that there was and is a country, but that a large part of that country doesn't feel represented by these parties. The pro-independence movement was on the streets and is now at home, finally convinced that the Trial is a bygone facade. And for thousands of those voters who saw the Trial as the project of their lives, the electoral dream is now called the Catalan Alliance.

Meanwhile, October 1st of this 2025 has brought President Isla in Rome, where Pope Leo XIV received him. Isla will invite him to come to Catalonia next year, when the highest tower of the Sagrada Família will be crowned with a four-armed cross.

And today is newsthe conference at which Oriol Junqueras launched his candidacy for the presidency of the Generalitat, a candidacy that is currently impossible because Junqueras has not been granted amnesty. At an event without an Esquerra logo, and with a Catalan flag and an Estelada flag, Junqueras returned to the basics: "Powers, resources, can only be guaranteed—whether we like it or not—if you have all the institutional power, all the tools of the state, those that states have. And if we are not a republic, if we are not all, we will be subject to the arbitrary measures that the Spanish governments can impose on us."

Behind the candidate, the phrase "A new national ambition" overlaps with an old personal ambition: to one day become president of the Generalitat. But just as Esquerra and Junqueras have the credit for bringing the independence movement to the center stage in the 1910s, Junqueras has the burden of the wear and tear that comes with 14 years at the helm of the party. Just listen to Ernest Maragall yesterday. In 3CatInfo, formerly 3/24: "I heard him say that he claimed his ability to reach agreements. What I can confirm is his ability to divide and confront. And to launch, expel, purge, and dispense with magnificent political assets of the country. Which belonged to his organization but are not the property of a citizenry."

The world's focus is not on Catalonia as it was on October 1, 2017. Yesterday, the US Secretary of Defense demanded that his generals prepare for war and that They will recover male physical standardsTrump told his generals that American cities governed by Democrats should be training grounds for troops. The world has changed a lot in these eight Octobers.

Good morning.