Does Catalonia need an “act of sovereignty”?

This weekend more than 3.000 people marched from the Arch of Triumph to the Catalan Parliament (see the video here) with the goal of demanding the current politicians whether their are willing to make an “act of sovereignty” or not. It has come to a point in which, for many ,it is time to take part, time to define whether the autonomic way is a cul-de-sac that leads to nowhere, or we still have faith in an hypothetical federal state that every day becomes more and more unrealistic.

The demonstration at the Arch of Triumph, Barcelona.

It’s good to see the civil society is still capable of organizing (as for instance in the 10Mil.cat initiative) beyond the tentacles of the parties and formal institutions, because it shows we are not as numb as many would like to see us. But it is even more important than we don’t break the ties between the society and  the political parties that eventually can serve the goals we are seeking. One way or the other, any self-determination process will have to be fully democratic (i.e. supported by the majority of the Catalan society) and political (i.e. institutions will play a crucial role).

In this sense, and as Vicent Partal says in his article in Vilaweb, it is at least a positive sign that both ERC and CiU sent several representatives to meet the manifestants at the Catalan Parliament. It was certainly a symbolic gesture, but at least it may help to stop the broadening of the gap between politicians and those who may have plenty of arguments to be disappointed with them.