The separatism movement backtracks 15 years: the plan of a former ERC councilor that emulates Artur Mas

The fact that a large part of the separatism movement hasn't recovered from the collapse caused by the latest regional elections is evident. After years of control over the Catalan institutional framework, the loss of power has had severe consequences for the separatism movement. Not only because of its reduced influence in the institutions, but also because its ideological discourse has been questioned. For many voters, the transition from 2017 to the present has left a feeling of failure and disappointment. This was reflected in the loss of the parliamentary majority and in high abstention rates.

In this context of crisis, an initiative that revives past tactics is once again taking center stage. Joan Carretero, former ERC councilor, has launched a project that seeks to revive a formula similar to the one used by Artur Mas a decade ago. Carretero leads Parliament Lliure, a platform that promotes the creation of an alternative parliament through a popular consultation in Catalan municipalities.

This Parliament Lliure aims to choose representatives who will assume the mandate of the 2017 referendum, ignoring the current regional institutions. The proposal argues that this parallel body should act based on popular sovereignty. The goal would be to move toward real independence, in light of the inaction and limitations of the official Parliament.

Carretero, who broke with ERC in 2007 after criticizing its approach to the PSC, is once again advocating for a breakaway strategy. At that time, he founded Reagrupament, a movement that questioned the Republicans' submission to Catalan socialism. This movement even went so far as to form a coalition with Convergència in European and general electoral processes. An alliance, by the way, that they now reject, as they believe the regional framework makes independence impossible.

more of the same: referendum and international recognition

The Parliament Lliure project has a clear timeline: to organize a popular consultation in all Catalan municipalities in about a year and a half. The idea is for the result to legitimize an alternative parliament that declares the validity of October 1st and works for international recognition.

The platform denounces on its official website that the current Catalan institutions do not represent the real sovereignty of Catalonia. They describe the Parliament as a "Spanish toy" without effective power and accuse the parties of building a partitocratic system based on networks of incentives that prevent Catalan freedom and prosperity.

This new proposal symbolizes a regression in the separatism movement's strategy, a retreat to approaches similar to those of 15 years ago. However, it also reflects the disillusionment and the need of some sectors to regain political initiative with methods alternative to the institutional ones. Time will tell if this plan manages to channel the support of the separatism movement again or if, on the contrary, it accentuates the division and dispersion within the movement.