Independence Vote in Catalonia
Hello there again readers and welcome back to Coffee Break Liberty, a blog where we tackle books, news and many other things under the sun where liberty is a guiding principle. If this is your first time here we would like to extend a special warm welcome to you and hope you enjoy yourself while you’re here.
On the 1st of October a vote was taken in Catalonia, this vote was a referendum for independence from Spain. This vote was declared illegal by the Spanish government in Madrid and there were attempts made to stop it. The central government had police that were breaking up polling stations and arresting leaders of the region. Eventually the vote was carried out in much of the region and the final tally was 90% in favor of independence from Spain! What was glossed over though in this summary was that the Spanish government went berserk and looked the fool in the whole situation. These police that were either sent in or ordered to bust up this vote made the central government look the scared.
Firstly, the vote was deemed illegal due to the fact that the Spanish constitution doesn’t allow for such votes to take place. So Madrid does have a legal leg to stand on there. Where they failed was their handling of the situation. The people of Catalonia are upset with the central government, so much so that they want to break off from the nation. So what does Madrid do? They send in police with rubber bullets and bats to break up polling stations and beat people with. They arrest people that want to peacefully gather. They beat up elderly men and women and drag them off the street, in Spain and Europe this is now what self determination looks like.
Madrid messed up bad on the PR move, that much is certain. They had the chance the handle the situation far better but they did not. They could have simply allowed the vote to take place and then come to the table and talked, rather they decided to beat people up and destroy private property in the process. Did Madrid decide to lighten up? No, they are now suspending the local government meetings and trying to shut them down.
Self determination is a human desire, well for most, that falls completely within the realm of the libertarian line of thought. When we think of liberty we think of being able to make choices for ourselves be them good ones or bad ones as long as they do not infringe on the rights of others. When the desire for more liberty is met with a bat and rubber bullets you then know if you live in a free society or not, in the Spain and Europe they don’t.
It is events like this that should trouble most people and be a wake up call for those that put far too much faith in governments. Keep in mind that the government in Spain is elected, the illusion of freedom under said government has been totally shattered by these recent events. It is hard to say what will happen next but here at Coffee Break Liberty we are in support of a free Catalonia!
Thank you for reading and please don’t forget to like and share!
Keep that coffee warm for us.
LWS
