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SPAIN-CATALONIA-VOTE-POLITICS-REGIONS
Catalan demands anger voters in other Spanish regions
MADRID, Espa a, Dec 15, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – A long-running conflict between
Madrid and Barcelona over Catalonia’s independence drive is annoying voters
in the rest of Spain who feel their concerns are being neglected.
“I am sick of hearing about Catalonia. And what about the rest of Spain, we
don’t have problems, we don’t have crisis, we don’t have anything?”
complained Cristina Garcia, a nurse in the rain-soaked northwestern region of
Galicia.
She said she feels “insulted” whenever Catalans, including relatives who
moved to the wealthy northeastern region, use the popular separatist slogan
“Spain robs us”.
The phrase refers to the perception that Catalonia’s prosperity is being
squandered on other Spanish regions.
Support for independence in Catalonia — which votes in tight regional
elections on Thursday that will determine the course of Spain’s secession
crisis — has soared since 2010, fuelled by the feeling that its demands are
being ignored by Madrid.
This feeling angers many in poorer regions like Galicia that needs new
roads and other infrastructure and where public health care is strained,
especially in rural areas.
Spain’s wealth is concentrated in a handful of regions. The country’s ten
richest cities are found in Catalonia, the northern Basque Country and the
central Madrid region, according to figures from national statistics
institute INE.
Household income in towns with less than 5,000 residents, is 25 percent
lower than the national average, according to 2015 tax returns.
But Catalans stress that they provide more money to the central government
in Madrid than they receive back in investments.
This “fiscal deficit” stood at just under 10 billion euros ($11.8 billion)
in 2014, the last year treasury ministry figures are available.
“They don’t know our situation. We have much lower salaries, healthcare is
more expensive,” said Garcia.
Her uncle, who has Parkinson’s disease, has been waiting for over a year
for a spot at a publicly-run nursing home. There are some 2,000 people on the
waiting list in Galicia for a place in a public nursing home.
– ‘Feel abandoned’ –
“Some autonomous communities feel abandoned, and rightly so,” said Eloisa
del Pino, a political scientist with the Spanish National Research Council,
citing the large swathes of Spain suffering from population ageing and the
flight to big cities.
Among the worst off regions is Extremadura in southwestern Spain, which has
the country’s lowest per capita income.
“The disregard on the part of the central government when it comes to
infrastructure is affecting us a great deal in Extremadura,” said Jose
Gonzalez, who is in charge of transportation in the regional government.
Last month tens of thousands of protesters from Extremadura descended on
Madrid to demand a “decent train” services for the region.
The train linking Madrid to Badajoz, Extremadura’s most populous city,
takes five hours.
By comparison the trip from the Spanish capital to Barcelona, the capital
of Barcelona which is further away, takes three hours maximum by high-speed
rail.
“You have to give Extremadura what it is entitled to, like to Catalonia,”
said Gonzalez.
– Broken trust –
Catalonia’s nationalist leaders, who are used to negotiating investments
with Madrid since Spain returned to democracy, began backing independence in
2012 after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government refused to discuss
giving the region more tax and spend powers.
The strategy led to the Catalan parliament to declare independence on
October 27.
Rajoy responded by dismissing the Catalan government, dissolving the
Catalan parliament and calling early elections in the region.
Polls show separatist parties and parties that want Catalonia to remain a
part of Spain are virtually tied.
If pro-unity parties manage to win a majority there is a chance of a
“return to normal negotiations” over Catalonia’s finances, said Alain Cuenca,
an economics professor at the University of Zaragoza who specialises in
regional financing.
– Talks – Del Pino said it would be tempting to resolve the Catalan crisis
“with money, to seek a system of financing that Catalans could sell as
something they have achieved through negotiations with the central state.”
But she warned that under this scenario other regions would respond by
saying that if we are going to talk about rethinking regional financing
“there are not only the Catalans”.
A proposal by Miquel Iceta, the leader of Catalonia’s Socialists, to annul
half of the region’s debt was roundly rejected in the rest of Spain and by
his own party.
Opposition parties have proposed a reform of Spain’s constitution to
redefine the powers of the country’s 17 regions but Rajoy has warned that
there must exist a “wide consensus” for any changes that can not be done just
to please Catalonia.
BSS/AFP/RY/08:55 hrs