Aliança Catalana stars (without being there) in the offering to Rafael Casanova

BarcelonaIt is customary for Aliança Catalana to skip the traditional floral offering at the monument in honor of Rafael Casanova, the last chief councilor of Barcelona who fought in 1714, because the pro-independence far-right prefers to pay homage to General Josep Moragues, a hero of the War of the Spanish Succession whom Philip V decapitated to display his head for twelve years at the Portal del Mar, as a warning to the Catalans. But the absence of Sílvia Orriols in the center of Barcelona has not prevented her party from being the protagonist in the interventions of political groups, organizations, and unions.

Despite having only one mayoralty –Ripoll– and two deputies in Parliament, polls predict a dazzling growth for Aliança Catalana that is conditioning the political debate in the country. The rise of the far-right is the great danger pointed out by both the Government and the traditional pro-independence parties. The baton of the speech given by the president, Salvador Illa, this Thursday, has been taken up by the spokesperson for the executive, Sílvia Paneque. She dressed as Josep Pla to defend the Catalonia of "the job well done" and, afterwards, spoke of a land "without exclusions." For this reason, she insisted on the defense of "coexistence."

The President of the Parliament, the Junts member Josep Rull, drove the point home even further: he defended the "nation of welcome and integration" and highlighted the figure of Paco Candel, adding that "hope is more powerful than fear." His defense of "the unity" of a country of "8 million Catalans" was significant, in line with the message that his political father, Jordi Pujol, sent to Catalunya Ràdio, where he claimed the Diada as a celebration "both for those who have just arrived and for those from the 30s of the last century." The Secretary General of Junts, Jordi Turull, also launched an implicit message to Aliança Catalana: "Let us not turn the revolt of smiles into the revolution of hate." However, he focused on criticizing Illa for his government action, which causes "the nation to fall apart" and "fosters polarization." It is not the first time that the Junts members have accused the socialists of inflating Aliança Catalana, which, in turn, takes votes away from classical sovereignism and, especially, from Junts.

The secretary general of ERC, Elisenda Alamany, has also lashed out against "the reactionaries" of Aliança Catalana, who "belittle" the country, but she also took the opportunity to censure the executive, which "governs Catalonia like just another region" from a position of "weakness" and "without national ambition," despite defending the new financing model agreed upon between republicans and socialists as a path for growth for Catalonia.

Even the major unions, UGT and Comissions Obreres, have followed the same common thread: they have stated that "the national construction of Catalonia is inseparable from the fight against racism" and have asked not to vote for the far right. The most forceful was Òmnium, both in the offering and in its own subsequent act. Its president, Xavier Antich, called for combating "the monsters" of the far-right Aliança Catalana, which "spreads like the plague" and represents the great "crossroads" that Catalonia faces as a country. The leader of the Comuns in Parliament, Jéssica Albiach, and the Minister of Culture and leader of Sumar, Ernest Urtasun, also warned that they will not allow "any extremist to come and hand out certificates of Catalan identity" or start "building walls between Catalans." There was also a call for unity from pro-independence entities, such as the ANC, and for the defense of the Catalan language, such as Plataforma per la Llengua.

From a tribute to Gustau Muñoz, the CUP spokesperson, Su Moreno, also criticized "the collusion of the Mossos with the far right" of Aliança at the event at the Fossar the day before.

Tanks everywhere

A few years ago, the Ronda de Sant Pere in Barcelona had been packed with Catalans who wanted to enjoy the Diada, but now, even if they wanted to, they could not, because the Mossos restrict access early in the morning to the Rafael Casanova monument. The deployment of barriers blocking the way makes the expression of citizens—clapping, whistling, or singing—increasingly complicated to see and hear. This is what Rosaura, Joan, and Mercè complain about, people from Barcelona and Sabadell who can barely see anything. It is easier to follow it on television. Beyond the demobilization, which already explained why the first Diada of Salvador Illa was marked by the absence of booing unlike the era of Pere Aragonès, police barriers have blurred the day. They are security reasons, according to the Catalan police, who this Thursday already had to intervene to prevent a pitched battle at the Fossar de les Moreres, where dozens of Aliança Catalana followers and hundreds of militants from the pro-independence left gathered.