Business associations give their "unconditional support" to Catalonia's self-determination
CNA
Barcelona (ACN).- 28 employers’ associations, chambers of
commerce and business organisations have signed a manifesto that
explicitly backs Catalonia's right to self-determination and the
organisation of a vote on this issue. They presented the initiative on
Thursday, in Sant Sebastià lighthouse on the Costa Brava, and it
received the name 'The Lighthouse Manifesto'. The document is based on a
previous agreement reached among employers and business associations
just from Girona Province (north-east), but it has now been shared with
organisations from throughout Catalonia, including some of the main
employers’ associations, such as CECOT, and all 13 existing Catalan
chambers of commerce. Some media, mostly edited in Madrid and abroad,
are portraying the business community as being against the
self-determination process, as a united opposition block. However, there
are many Catalan employers that are backing it, even among the larger
companies. For instance, a few weeks ago, the
President and co-owner of the pharmaceutical Grífols – which is one of
the world leaders of blood-derivate products – backed the Catalan
President and his efforts to organise a self-determination vote. In
addition, in October 2012, the PIMEC small and medium-sized enterprise
association issued a survey stating that around two thirds of its
members would back independence from Spain. However, it is also true
that the President of the main employer association in Catalonia, Foment
del Treball, which has strong ties with Madrid organisations, has
expressed his doubts about the process and his preference to remain
within Spain. At the same time, some members of Foment, such as the
Federation of Business Organisations of Girona (FOEG), which has signed
'The Lighthouse Manifesto', have expressed their support for
self-determination.
A large section of the Catalan business community offered a powerful
image on Thursday by presenting 'The Lighthouse Manifesto' which gives
"unconditional support" to Catalonia's right to self-determination and
the organisation of a vote on this issue, which should take place on the
9th of November. In total, the document was backed by 28
business associations: all 13 existing chambers of commerce in Catalonia
as well as other business and employers’ organisations, including
CECOT, Pimec, Amec, Fepime and Femcat, among others. In order to sign
and present the document to the press, a representative of each group
came to the Sant Sebastià lighthouse, located on top of a Costa Brava
cliff near Llafranc and the town of Palafrugell. They criticised the
Spanish Government for not talking with Catalan representatives on
self-determination demands and they also criticised it for "mistreating"
Catalonia's economy, for instance by not building essential
infrastructure and by keeping a perpetuated fiscal deficit that
under-budgets public services and private business. The Coordinator of
the National Alliance for Self-determination, the veteran
Christian-Democrat politician Joan Rigol, was also present and thanked
the courage of these business associations for speaking up.
Business associations criticise the Spanish Government's lack of dialogue
"Democracy does not worry us, the entrepreneurs. However, what
worries us is intolerance and ignorance ", declared the President of the
CECOT multi-sector employers’ association, Antoni Abad. "We are
noticing, with great concern, that there is no dialogue in Spain, since
the Transition [from Franco's dictatorship to democracy]. The lack of
dialogue means tension, and tension damages the economic recovery",
added Abad, who was indirectly replying to yesterday's words of the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy.
On Wednesday, Rajoy met with the Presidents and CEOs of Spain's largest
companies – such as Santander, BBVA, Inditex, Mango and Ferrovial – and
told them that Catalonia's self-determination was damaging the economic
recovery. Rajoy has pursued a no-to-everything attitude regarding the
demands to organise a self-determination vote, which are backed by
between 75% and 80% of the Catalan population. Instead, Rajoy downplays
such support, claiming that "the majority" of Catalans are against
self-determination. In addition, he refuses to even talk about it with
Catalan representatives and states that he will only talk if Catalans
give up their self-determination demands. This was the lack of dialogue
Antoni Abad was referring to.
Joining the National Alliance for Self-determination, which brings together more than 1,500 organisations
The manifesto is a short text and it basically emphasises the
"unconditional support" of the signers for Catalonia's right to
self-determination. It also states their "total adhesion to the National
Alliance for Self-determination", an initiative encompassing more than
1,500 organisations, including public institutions, political parties,
trade unions, business organisations, professional associations, NGOs,
cultural organisations and political pressure groups. The National
Alliance met for the second time in February and agreed on working to
guarantee that Catalans were allowed to hold a free and democratic vote
on their own collective future.
'The Lighthouse Manifesto' states that "this [self-determination]
process has to allow our fellow citizens to be able to freely and
democratically express their will on our country's future". The text is
very similar to the previous initiative adopted among business
organisations and employers’ associations from Girona Province, in
north-eastern Catalonia. As a tribute to this first initiative, the
presentation of the initiative backed by organisations from throughout
Catalonia took place in Llafranc, in the same province. The document
emphasised "the commitment to respect and to support" the decision
adopted by the people of Catalonia, "whatever it is". In addition, they
engage themselves in "adapting the activity" of their companies to this
decision, in order not to obstruct the will of the people but to back
it.
Spanish authorities are "getting in our face"
During the manifesto presentation several representatives of the
signing organisations gave a short speech, including Joan Rigol, the
Coordinator of the National Alliance. Rigol insisted that "employers are
an essential part of Catalan society"; he praised them for openly
backing self-determination. "When they are getting in our face with the
Wert Law [the Education Reform reducing the presence of Catalan language
in schools] or the Market Unity Law, they do not realise that they are
hurting profoundly positive attitudes of our society, and we have to
address this", said Rigol. In fact, many voices complained about how the
Spanish Government "has mistreated" Catalonia from a fiscal, political
and cultural point of view, without showing respect for its language and
culture and by perpetuating an unfair fiscal deficit that under-budgets
public services and damages the private economy.
They have also criticised the lack of respect to democracy and to
Catalan society that the Spanish Government's confrontational attitude
and refusal to talk represents. "There have been repeated attempts to
talk without receiving any response from the Spanish authorities; this
closed door provokes an increased citizen and business disaffection
[towards Spain]", stated Jaume Plana, President of FOEG, the Girona
business-owners’ association which is part of Foment del Treball,
Catalonia's main employer's association. Plana insisted that the
petition to vote on 9th of November "is not an issue of a bunch of fools nor something that will fade away as many in Madrid think".
The President of Girona Chamber of Commerce and the Vice President of
Catalonia's Council of Chambers of Commerce, Domènec Espadalé,
underlined the "key principle of employers" is to have a society able
"to decide in a free and democratic way" on its future. "We want to
build progress and welfare for our society out of our work and from our
companies", he said. "And we want to make it crystal clear: we want and
we believe that we will vote", Espadalé added.
More on
Antoni Abad, Barcelona Chamber Of Commerce, Business, Business Association, Catalan Companies, Catalan Government, Catalan Independence, CECOT, Democracy, European Union, Foment, Grifols, Independence, Joan Rigol, Mariano Rajoy, National Alliance, Pimec, Referendum, Self-Determination, SMEs, Spanish Government, Vote
