A future referendum on Catalonia’s possible independence from the rest of Spain “will cease to be unconstitutional and impossible,” similar to the inevitable amnesty law for those involved in the 2017 secession attempt, Catalan President Pere Aragonès announced on Monday (April 8), according to Euractiv.
Speaking in the Spanish Senate, where the Spanish People’s Party is the main opposition party but holds a majority, Aragonès called on Spain’s prime minister to authorise the referendum.
No matter how much people shout, the amnesty will be inevitable, as will the singular financing (future tax collection at regional level) and the referendum. We do not understand impossibilities. Catalonia does not understand impossibilities.
However, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has repeatedly stated that the independence referendum is a “red line” for the executive, given that it would violate Spain’s 1978 constitution.
This is not the first time that Aragonès and former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, leader of the Together for Catalonia formation, have indirectly challenged Sánchez with calls for a referendum.
Since the Spanish Prime Minister signed the government agreement with JxCat in November 2023, both Puigdemont and Aragonès have reiterated several times that the amnesty law is only the first step and that the goal of the separatist forces is to hold a referendum on the independence of the Spanish region.
According to a recent poll conducted by the Catalan regional government (Generalitat), 51 per cent of Catalans would reject the region’s independence from the rest of Spain, while 42 per cent would support it.
JxCat and the ERC have guaranteed the support of the central government for the next four years of the legislature, including the approval of national budgets until 2027, a key element of Sánchez’s social policy programme.
On May 12, Catalonia will hold crucial elections in which the Socialist Party is the favourite, with a fierce dispute between the JxCat and the ERC expected for the second place.
