The need for a new course
Catalan independence is at a critical crossroads, with a feeling of frustration that has taken over many of its followers. The recent regional elections have left a bitter aftertaste, with a significant decrease in the influence of the independence forces on the institutions. This scenario has caused the political discourse to be questioned and that the confidence in traditional tactics escape between the fingers.
A plan that evokes the past
In this context of discontent, Joan Carretero, a former ERC counselor, has emerged as a key player with a proposal reminiscent of Artur Mas’s strategies. Carretero has launched an initiative known as a free parliament, with the aim of creating an alternative parliament through a popular consultation that involves all the municipalities of Catalonia.
An alternative parliament
The idea of this free parliament is to choose representatives operating under the mandate of the referendum on October 1, 2017, disconnecting from current regional institutions. Carretero advocates a popular sovereignty -based action, with the gaze on the achievement of effective independence, in the face of the limitations imposed by official bodies.
A trip to the future or a step back?
The Calendar of the Free Parliament project is ambitious: the intention is to make a popular consultation within a year and a half. With the results of this consultation, it is intended to legitimize the creation of an alternative parliament that may declare the validity of 1-O and work to gain international support.
Critics of the current system
The platform is not being short in its criticism: it states that Catalan institutions do not reflect the true sovereignty of the Catalan people, describing the current parliament as a ‘Spanish toy’. Parties are accused of creating a party -Socratic system that hinders the freedom and progress of Catalonia.
Reflections on the future of independence
Although Carretero’s proposal may be seen as a recoil to tactics of a not so distant past, it also reveals the feeling of disenchantment and the need to recover political initiative through alternatives to conventional models. Its ability to unite independence or, on the contrary, to deepen division, is an unknown that time will be in charge of solving.
