Catalan secession project in balance as anti-austerity party weighs up next step. For nearly three decades they have quietly been building up a base of supporters, rallying citizens in several Spanish regions to back their anti-capitalist agenda.
Now, as the world wonders what’s next for Catalonia’s secessionist movement, all eyes have landed on this small far-left, pro-independence party. Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) won 10 seats in Catalonia’s regional elections, meaning that if it partners with the nationalist coalition Junts pel Sí (Together for Yes), which won 62 seats, secessionists could take control of the 135-seat parliament. On Monday, Junts pel Sí said it was ready to work with CUP, conscious that failure to do so could stall the secession project. But things aren’t so clear for CUP, said member Josep Manel Busqueta. Tough negotiations lie ahead for both camps, who hold contrasting views on everything from EU membership to economic policy. “For us, independence in the 21st century isn’t just about breaking off with the Spanish state,” Manel Busqueta said.
Why The European Commission Is Wrong: The Case Of Spain. Chart: Spain Seasonally Adjusted... Spanien: Kampf gegen Zwangsräumungen immer dramatischer - International. MadridAls das Räumkommando in Barakaldo im spanischen Baskenland unten am Hauseingang klingelte, öffnete Amaya Egaña die Tür.
Während die Justizbeamten die Treppen zur Wohnung im vierten Stock emporstiegen, kletterte die 53-jährige Frau auf einen Stuhl und sprang aus dem Fenster in die Tiefe. Sie war auf der Stelle tot. Die frühere Kommunalpolitikerin der Sozialisten hatte es nicht ertragen können, dass sie wegen Bankschulden zwangsweise aus ihrer Wohnung ausquartiert werden sollte. Spanische Banken bekommen von der EZB viele Milliarden, um sich über Wasser zu halten. Immobilienbesitzer bekommen nichts geschenkt: Hunderttausende Spanier sind pleite und müssen raus aus ihren Häusern. Der Selbstmord fachte die Proteste in Spanien gegen die jüngste Welle von Zwangsräumungen neu an. Seit dem Ausbruch der Wirtschaftskrise sind im ganzen Land bereits etwa 350.000 Wohnungen zwangsweise geräumt worden, weil die Eigentümer ihre Bankkredite nicht bedienen konnten.
Spain Red Cross to launch domestic aid appeal. Spain's Red Cross is preparing to launch its first-ever public appeal for donations to aid Spaniards affected by the country's deepening economic crisis.
Miguel Angel Rodriguez, a spokesman for the aid organisation also known as IFRC, said on Tuesday that the agency is trying to raise about $38m over the next two years to help 300,000 people living in poor conditions. Spain is in its second recession in three years with an almost 25 per cent unemployment rate, the highest in the European Union. The new IFRC campaign, titled Now More than Ever, is set to reportedly announce its appeal on Wednesday in 30 of the country's provinces. A campaign video shows a family with an all but empty fridge receiving a box of groceries from the Red Cross. The agency helped some two million people in Spain last year, most of who were in need of food or money. Before the crisis, the Spanish Red Cross mainly helped immigrants in Spain and disaster-hit or poverty-stricken countries abroad. Could Mean the End of Spain.
By Marshall Auerback The real weak link now in the Eurozone is Spain, where the data is a disaster.
It is Greece writ large. And this is before Madrid, under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, has submitted to a new ECB program of agreed austerity in exchange for the ECB backstopping the nation’s bonds via a renewed Securities Market Program (SMP). One can readily understand Mariano Rajoy’s reluctance to place Spain in the 21st century equivalent of a Victorian debtor’s prison. The country’s economy is a disaster. Spain is still a relative young democracy. Being thrown out of the EU would be a boon for Catalonia if it meant severance from the euro straitjacket, but disastrous for Spain for let’s face it: Spain has milked Catalonia dry for four hundred years. Catalonia is a VERY wealthy region. If and when Rajoy submits to the ECB’s program, don’t be surprised if separatist sentiment in Catalonia hardens and spreads to other regions.
Sounds far-fetched?