Catalonia

:This article is about the Spanish autonomous community. There is also an article on its government, the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Politics of Catalonia

::See also Politics of Catalonia

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During the late 19th century and the 20th century, Catalonia was one of the centers of Spanish industrialisation.

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The struggle between the Barcelonese conservative bourgeoisie and the working class, often immigrants from the rest of Spain, dominated Catalan politics.

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Catalan nationalist and federalist movements arose in the nineteenth century, and when the Second Spanish Republic was declared in 1931 Catalonia became an autonomous region. Following the fall of the Second Republic after the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, the authoritarian dictatorship of General Francisco Franco annulled Catalonia's autonomy and prohibited any official promotion or recognition of the Catalan language (although its private everday use was never proscribed). During the last decade of Franco's rule, there was a resurgence of nationalist sentiment in Catalonia as in the other 'historic' region of the Basque provinces.

Related Topics:
1931 - Francisco Franco

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Following Franco's death in 1975 and the restoration of full democracy by 1978, Catalonia regained its status as an autonomous region within Spain. The Catalan nationalist leader Jordi Pujol came to power in the first regional elections in 1980 and his two-party coalition, Convergence and Unity (Convergència i Unió or CiU), won successive elections for 23 years.

Related Topics:
1975 - Jordi Pujol - 1980 - Convergència i Unió

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Terra Lliure ("Free Land"), which was essentially a terrorist group, sought to achieve independence through violence against Spanish interests and the wider population, but it never achieved the infamy or reach of the Basque terrorist organisatoin , and disbanded after negotiations with the national government.

Related Topics:
Terra Lliure - Terrorist

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Despite his radical background Pujol became increasingly conservative in office and supported José María Aznar's conservative People's Party (PP) central government in Madrid. Nationalist factions became increasingly dissatisfied with his rule, especially the ERC. At the same time the Catalan Socialists' Party (Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, PSC-PSOE), based in the industrial heartland of Barcelona, regained its strength.

Related Topics:
José María Aznar - People's Party - ERC - Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya - Barcelona

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One of the keys to Catalan politics is the fact that Barcelona, because it attracts migrants from all over Spain and Latin America, is a majority Spanish-speaking city, particularly in working-class areas, while the rural regions, and the middle- and upper-class urban areas, remain solidly Catalan-speaking. The Socialists have become the party of those who resent the dominance of middle-class Catalan nationalists over Barcelona. In any case, while Catalan is experiencing a spectacular revival, the dominating presence of Spanish-speakers will continue to make universal use of Catalan unlikely. Recently there has been an influx of African and East European immigrants, but this has not influenced the political system yet even though the demographic impact of immigration can clearly be seen on the streets.

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At the regional elections held on November 16 2003, at which Pujol retired, the combined parties of the left defeated the CiU for the first time and Pasqual Maragall i Mira became President of the Generalitat. Maragall's Socialists, however, actually lost seats: the big winners were the Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya or ERC), which favours full Catalan independence, and the Greens. While PSC mantains the post of President of the Generalitat (Maragall), ERC nominates the conseller primer (prime minister) — currently, Bargalló.

Related Topics:
November 16 - 2003 - Pasqual Maragall i Mira - Generalitat - Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya

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Maragall's government is an alliance between PSC, ERC, and ICV.

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Parties

• CiU — Convergència i Unió (Convergence and Unity) - federation
• CDC — Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (Democratic Convergence of Catalonia)
• UDC — Unió Democràtica de Catalunya (Democratic Union of Catalonia)
• ERC — Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia)
• ICV-EUiA — Iniciativa per Catalunya-Verds – Esquerra Unida i Alternativa (Green Initiative for Catalonia-Left United Alternative)
• PP — Partit Popular (People's Party)
• PSC-PSOE — Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya-Partido Socialista Obrero Español (Socialist Party of Catalonia-Spanish Socialist Workers' Party)

Summary of votes and seats

Votes and seats are compared with those won at the 1999 election.

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Voters: 5,307,837

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Voting: 3,319,276 62.5%

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Invalid votes: 8,793 00.3%

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Valid votes: 3,310,483 99.7%

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