Llach banishes critics and electoral adventures in his first term at the ANC

BarcelonaLluís Llach's journey to become president of the ANC was very difficult. In the most tumultuous assembly in its history, the singer-songwriter It took two full houses to take the throne of the organization In a situation that had never occurred before and that highlighted the internal division, Llach, while awaiting confirmation of whether he will run for reelection, has, during his two years in office, quelled dissent and worked tirelessly to revive the independence movement, which he has admitted is in a state of "absolute depression."

The dome commanded by Lluís LlachHe wanted to reform the statutes to prevent the critical sector from continuing to block progress.the decision-making and the selection of positions, and he got his way. The partners validated the modification with 73% supportWith the reform, the two-thirds requirement for electing an official position was eliminated, and the door was opened for former national secretaries to be re-elected—previously limited to two terms—if four years had passed since they last held a leadership position. This change also triggered a mass exodus of dissidents, whoThey left the secretariat.

At that assembly, it was also approved that the ANC would remain independent of any electoral option and that, furthermore, it "will not promote, encourage, or be involved in any type of election, nor will it participate directly or indirectly." Now, if they wanted to take that step, it would require the approval of two-thirds of the secretaries and members. However, after the rejectionby the narrowest of marginsAmong the members of the civic list, those in favor of running have already given up trying to make the leap to Parliament through the Assemblea and secretaries and former secretaries of the entity. They presented a new party in June., Dempeus per la Independència, as an "alternative to processism."

Just before the last Diada, the ANC clarified that Aliança Catalana"She was not welcome"He did so after Llach said that "all pro-independence supporters were welcome," however much he disliked Sílvia Orriols' party. Subsequently, the ANC emphasized that, although they had "never" asked for "anyone's party membership card," they rejected the party because it held positions "that equate it with far-right identity parties in other countries." In any case, Llach has not held back in criticizing the far-right's positions. In an interview with ARA, Llach said that Aliança, like Vox, "does not respect human rights.

"Independence or elections." This was one of the slogans most frequently repeated by former president Dolors Feliu. The Assemblea's estrangement from the three major political parties reached the point where a vote was held on whether to run in the Catalan Parliament. The new leadership has rebuilt bridges with the parties, although it remains highly critical of ERC and Junts for their pacts with the PSC and the PSOE. "We will achieve independence together, or it won't happen at all," is one of the phrases most strongly defended by Llach, who believes that this confrontation only leads to discouragement among the rank and file. His calls for unity and for putting independence at the forefront, however, have been to no avail.

The new leadership has also rebuilt bridges with Òmnium after the estrangement of recent years. Llach has held numerous meetings with Xavier Antich to bridge their differences. The joint call for the Diada, with an effort to include it on an equal footing, demonstrates the desire to put past disagreements behind them. Antich had even gone so far as to accuse the Assemblea of "to promote anti-politics and populism"Òmnium's bet because of the Rodalies users' demonstration, not the ANC's.However, it has strained relations once again. Nevertheless, the leadership of the Assemblea is determined to smooth things over.

Having ruled out competing with the political parties, the ANC leadership has promoted mobilizations and acts of civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance to revitalize street protests and pressure the parties, even though, as Llach has complained on several occasions, the public response has not been as enthusiastic as he would have liked. In any case, the executive committee has stood with the farmers, protested against the "judicial coup" through the amnesty, demonstrated against the King's presence in Catalonia, as in Montserrat, and in support of the Sijena artworks.

The ANC has launched several campaigns. The most significant was the Rodalies campaign, under the slogan "For decent trains: the only way is independence!" This campaign was launched in January of last year, well before the unrest of recent months, and culminated in the occupation of Sants station in April, an event which, according to the leadership, legitimizes their leading the February protest. They also launched an international campaign demanding the release of Pablo Hasél.

With the paralysis of the Catalan independence movement, many local assemblies had become inactive, and the leadership has united them at the district level to reactivate them. The decentralization of the Diada (Catalan National Day), something that had only been done once before, in 2016, also aimed to give greater prominence to the local assemblies. Likewise, the sectoral assemblies have also been revitalized, and there are now nearly twenty functioning, tripling the number of those that were previously active.

Involving young people is one of the battlegrounds for an organization where older members predominate. During this term, the Assemblea de Joves (Youth Assembly) was created, taking over from ANJI, a youth sector that had become inactive. Taking advantage of the fact that there was a group of underage youth interested in joining the ANC, the leadership will sign an agreement with them to formally affiliate with the organization.

Like all pro-independence groups, the Assemblea has suffered social repercussions from its 2017 defeat. Now, its objective is to grow the organization and halt the loss of members, which began in 2020 and worsened in 2022 and 2023 with its support for the civic list. While these losses are no longer as significant, the Assemblea hopes to offset them with an increase in membership through a specific campaign called "To Be or Not to Be."

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) remains committed to promoting the Catalan independence cause in Europe and around the world, participating in various international forums. Its most recent participation was at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Conference on the Human Dimension, held in Warsaw at the end of the year.