The independence movement returns to the streets with Catalan as its spearhead.

BarcelonaThe Diades are long gone from the massive pro-independence demonstrations, those that ultimately marked the political course and generated a turning point in the Catalan and state paradigm. Catalonia has been in a post-independence period for at least a year and a half—since the independence movement lost the Catalan government after the March 12 elections—and this year's Diada certifies this. However, while it's true that the mobilization this September 11th had even lower participation—some 41,500 people in Barcelona, ​​​​Girona, ​​and Tortosa—than a year ago (70,000 across Catalonia), the streets continue to fill with unconditional supporters, proving that the movement has not disappeared. It doesn't have the institutional power it held a year ago, with the Generalitat as its leading exponent, but the pro-independence parties continue to influence the Catalan and state legislatures. In fact, they hold the key. And as was the case before 2010, when the Process was barely getting started, now the political agenda is no longer set by the path towards a state of its own, but by everyday issues that also structure a nation. Catalan is the clearest example and has become the spearhead of this Diada.

The Catalan language is, precisely, the issue that generates a consensus between two worlds that have repelled each other throughout the Process: the independence movement and the entire PSC space. The government of Salvador Illa does not share – and announced that it would appeal – the decision of this Wednesday of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) to annul a large part of the decree on language regime that Pere Aragonès' government approved to protect Catalan as the vehicular language in schools and to prevent the implementation of language percentages. The independence movement also disagrees. With varying nuances and tones, both the president of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa—who called for the defense of Catalan in his institutional speech—and institutional representatives of the independence movement, such as the speaker of the Parliament (Parlament), Josep Rull—who took advantage of the floral offering at the Rafael Casanova monument to attack the ruling and present it as one of the elements that "massages" it.

It remains to be seen whether there is unity of action in the response to the ruling. However, the most forceful message within the independence movement has come from the demonstration in Barcelona. It came from the president of the ANC (Nationalist Workers' Party), Lluís Llach, who called for disobeying the ruling of the TSJC (High Court of Justice) and cited the 1-O referendum as an example. "We demand that our institutions not allow a judge's obsession to dynamite our school. And if the State and its courts want to impose this ruling on us, we will disobey," he said. In fact, Llach has gone even further and, following the Assembly's strategic line, has also advocated that this disobedience be extended to other "rights violations" to revive the independence movement.

Llach has placed Sijena and also the Cercanías (local railway) on the list of grievances. On this last issue, Isla's government has also taken issue. Resolving the messiness of this rail service—which ERC agreed to transfer to the Generalitat in exchange for Pedro Sánchez's investiture—is one of the President of the Generalitat's obsessions and also another of the issues setting the political agenda in the post-Process era and generating consensus between socialists and independentists.

The relationship with the far right

One of the images from this September 11th was seeing how the leader of the Catalan Alliance, Sílvia Orriols, welcomed the independence movement. She participated in the Diada demonstration for the first time since becoming mayor of Ripoll. Orriols wasn't the center of attention at the demonstration, but she didn't go unnoticed either: she began the demonstration escorted by the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police) and was greeted with Palestinian flags and anti-fascist chants from the protesters. The growth of the Catalan Alliance is straining the independence movement, which has been insisting for months on distancing itself from its xenophobic rhetoric and highlighting how Catalonia has historically been a land of welcome.

In fact, anticipating the presence of the far right at this year's demonstration, Òmnium sought to counter this rhetoric hours beforehand. At the event that the cultural entity was scheduled to hold in Barcelona, ​​​​but which was canceled due to rain, its president, Xavier Antich, did give a speech accompanied by members of the entity's board of directors to defend the "diversity" of Catalonia. "This diversity is not an anomaly. Immigration has been a structural phenomenon for more than a century, and we are proud of it," said Antich.

Beyond Orriols' presence, the demonstration—which was pending until the last moment—had one notable absence: that of the leader of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, who chose not to attend. Esquerra did send a representation, led by Elisenda Alamany, the party's general secretary. However, it is no secret that the ANC's strategy is not shared by the Republicans, who are still haunted by the whistles they received at previous Diades (Days of Independence) events. Now, just as was the case last year, there was no room for recriminations on this Diada, and Llach even called for unity among the pro-independence parties. However, at this point, this seems like a pipe dream. Each party is immersed in defining its own strategy and becoming the party with the greatest influence in Madrid.

It is precisely the negotiating power now being fought over by Junts and ERC that also demonstrates a return to the years before 2010. At the floral offering at the monument to Rafael Casanova, it was as if the clock had been reset to zero again. As if Catalonia had returned to the years before the Process, when the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) claimed the Catalan nation—as did the spokesperson for the Catalan government, Silvia Paneque—and the pro-independence parties went a step further and called for independence. Among the ERC delegation, shouts of "Visca Catalunya lliure" were heard, and the representatives of Junts shouted "Independence" after singing The ReapersThe question now is whether a Diada will spark the independence movement.