The ANC uses commuter rail as a pretext to bring down the PSOE governments

Barcelona"This isn't about trains, it's about dignity and our future and the future of our nation." The Catalan independence movement is looking for opportunities to regain the strength it has been losing since the fall of 2017, and the rail chaos of recent weeks has opened one. The president of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Lluís Llach, made no secret of the fact that the commuter rail service "disaster" is merely the tip of the iceberg of a demand that goes far beyond infrastructure. The chants, in fact, have been predominantly focused on independence and criticism of Spain. Like the 2007 demonstration, this Saturday morning's march through the center of Barcelona had rail transport as its central theme, but the core slogan was "independence." Between 8,000 people, according to the Barcelona City Police, and 30,000, according to the organizers (in 2007 the City Police estimated the number of demonstrators at 200,000, while the organizers, the Platform for the Right to Decide, put the figure at 700,000), the number was monumented to 700,000; from Santiago. At the end of the march, and in front of the Palau de la Generalitat, Llach called the government of Salvador Isla "collaborator" and urged the pro-independence parties to overthrow the socialist governments, both in Catalonia and in Spain, in order to force elections "of a plebiscite nature."

"We have a bad government that only offers us decline as a nation and society. And enough of the complicity it finds. The Isla government must fall, for being collaborationist and deceitful," exclaimed Llach, who, like Jordi Domingo before him, championed the independence of the other organizing body (the Council of the Republic). "We must scare the government in Madrid and the traitorous government of Catalonia," declared the ANC leader, calling for "a revival of citizen mobilization."

For some years now, the number of demonstrators for the Diada has been declining, and the ANC has been increasingly distancing itself from political parties, seeing them subservient to "autonomism." The profile of the morning's demonstrators was similar to that seen on the 11th of September, predominantly older people, although a group of young people also made an appearance, arguing that independence is "the only" way to solve Catalonia's problems. As they did 19 years ago, the organizers emphasized that the fiscal deficit—which they estimate at more than 25 billion euros annually—is the root of the structural problem, not only affecting the commuter rail system but also "healthcare, housing, the economy, agriculture, fishing, public services..." Alongside the organizing groups, representatives of pro-independence parties and Òmnium Cultural also demonstrated, and they will participate again in the afternoon's demonstration. Llach, who will not be present, expressed his openness to joining forces with the commuter rail users' platforms, but warned that "no one" will lecture them on the struggle to ensure Catalans have a decent train service.

From Tremp, the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, explained that he "understands and respects" the protesters' demonstrations, but that "frustration won't solve anything." Therefore, the Catalan Government has decided to "take the bull by the horns" and get to work to "fix the Catalan commuter rail system once and for all."