Return of Spanish right risks reigniting Catalan separatist flame

MADRID — Spain’s election this month risks pushing the explosive issue of Catalan independence right back up the political agenda. Nearly a decade after a separatist drive in Catalonia plunged Spain into a constitutional crisis in 2017–2018, the topic now lies dormant, barely making the headlines. But that could change quickly if the conservative People’s Party (PP) and the far-right Vox take power in the vote on Nov.

29, as polls predict . Their staunch brand of unionism could well inflame feelings across the region of 8 million people. “We know that they are certain to cut back our self-governing powers and intervene in Catalan society in a very heavy way,” Francesc-Marc Álvaro, a candidate for the Senate in the upcoming election for the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), said.

“This would amount to throwing gasoline on Catalan society.” Lawmaker Míriam Nogueras from the pro-independence Junts party said Catalonia had “never been respected by any Spanish regime or government,” and the next would be no exception.