Ten years without Muriel Casals, the architect of the "revolution of smiles"

BarcelonaFor ten years, the pro-independence movement has mourned the loss of Muriel Casals, the economist and activist who, as head of Òmnium Cultural, became one of the symbols of the independence process. Casals did not live to see the October 1st referendum because died more than a year earlier He died in an accident while riding a bicycle, but his leadership was key in the events that preceded it, from the November 9th referendum to the Junts pel Sí list, of which he was a member. Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of his death, his legacy was celebrated this Tuesday in a tribute organized by the organization he led between 2010 and 2015. The event was attended by the activist's family and numerous politicians, including the Speaker of the Catalan Parliament, Josep Rull, former presidents Quim Torra and Juli Fernàndez (ERC deputy), and the president of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Lluís Llach. "He was able to see further," said the president of the pro-independence organization, Xavier Antich, who emphasized "the importance of hope," as Casals conveyed, even now "at a time when everything seems to point to the opposite." "Muriel taught us that the only future we have as a people is the one we are capable of building together, based on the diversity that unites us," she declared.

Casals was born in Avinyó in 1945, the daughter of an exiled Republican soldier and a French teacher, who soon moved to Sabadell. She took her first steps in politics with the PSUC and later with ICV, but then shifted towards the pro-independence movement. She was a professor in the Department of Economics and Economic History at the UAB, a background that, according to her colleagues, was evident in her "analytical" and "reflective" way of working. This is how Carme Forcadell, Muriel Casals's comrade in arms during that time when they both became the public faces of the ANC and Òmnium Cultural, respectively, remembers her.

Forcadell and Casals met in Sabadell, but it wasn't until the woman who would later become Speaker of the Catalan Parliament took the helm of the ANC that they began sharing meetings and trips. Forcadell particularly remembers one such trip, to Brussels, where they were both going to explain to Europe that on November 9, 2014, Catalonia would vote on independence in a referendum. Just before the event, they received a call from President Artur Mas, who explained that, ultimately, the 9-N would be "a consultation." The former Speaker of the Parliament recalls the "disappointment" this episode caused them both, leading them to cancel an international tour they were scheduled to undertake in several European countries to publicize the failed referendum. However, Casals did not give up.

"The best of all of us"

Upon Casals' death, Mas described her with an epithet that has accompanied her memory ever since: "She was the best of all of us." "Muriel was decisive in crucial and very delicate moments. When it seemed that everything was falling apart, Muriel's calm and positive voice rose up, energetic when necessary, firm," he wrote in an article in this newspaper. In a conversation with ARA, Forcadell emphasizes "how easy it was to work with her," because "she was very clear about what she wanted": "There are many times I've thought, 'What would Muriel do?' I've thought about it many times," she says, referring to October 1st and everything that followed. Her leadership was key for Òmnium Cultural to join the Junts pel Sí adventure, which was viewed with suspicion by the board, but which had the backing of the regional branches. Casals was always in favor and, in fact, did everything possible to get the CUP on board. That, too, was another disappointment.

Completing the triad of pro-independence organizations was the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI), then led by Josep Maria Vila d'Abadal. Like the others who worked with Casals, Vila d'Abadal emphasizes his commitment to finding ways to unite the pro-independence parties and civil society. "He was very clear that if we didn't work together, we wouldn't succeed," he stresses. But, in case things didn't go well, Casals wanted to argue that these organizations should become a repository for the struggle for Catalan language and culture and strengthen themselves.

"With it, Òmnium took a leap forward," emphasizes historian and president of the Congrés de Cultura Catalana foundation, Agustí Alcoberro. The two met when Alcoberro was director of the Museum of the History of Catalonia and contacted Òmnium to rescue and preserve the banner from the 2010 demonstration: "We are a nation, we decide". Even then, Alcoberro believes, Casals was aware of the path Catalan society had embarked upon, a path that would be the prelude to the major demonstrations of the Process, beginning with the one in 2012. Casals's serenity, her predisposition to dialogue, and her intellectual preparation are other characteristics highlighted by those who spoke of her. Among them was former President of the Generalitat Quim Torra, who would write the book in her honor. Muriel Casals and the revolution of smiles, where It includes one of the most frequently repeated terms during the Process, and one she helped to create. "Beneath a fragile appearance and exquisite manners, she hid a tenacious spirit; it wasn't the smile of the revolution, but the revolutionary who smiled," she emphasizes. The years she worked with her at Òmnium while she was managing the Born, she says, were "among the best of her life." Torra succeeded Casals as interim head of Òmnium when she was elected to parliament for Junts pel Sí.