Many Catalans, meanwhile, are still in the dark. "I don't know what to think about the Estatut because it hasn't been explained properly," said textile entrepreneur Toni Gassó. "The politicians keep painting a rosy picture saying we will gain more control over our region but I suspect there will be a catch. As individuals, will we end up paying more, less or the same amounts of tax, social security, etc? It's still not clear."
So what exactly is the Estatut and what on earth is all the fuss about? Essentially, the Estatut is a Catalan proposal for greater political and economic independence from the central government in Madrid. It will initiate the next important chapter in centuries of regional struggles in Spain that have already resulted in one of the most autonomous power structures in Europe. Catalunya, in particular, has fought a long and bloody struggle for greater independence, the modern origins of which can be traced back just over a century to the 'Bases de Manresa'—the first draft plan for Catalan autonomy. Inspired by the gradual demise of the Spanish empire, Catalunya was already emerging as a powerful cultural and economic region in its own right as the industrial era dawned. A conservative Catalan nationalist movement 'Lliga Regionalista' was subsequently founded and, in 1914, achieved its first milestone with the establishment of the 'Mancommunitat', the first government of any kind in Catalunya in 200 years. It was soon toppled by the 1923 military coup of Primo de Rivera, but the founding of the second Spanish Republic in 1931 brought new hope.
Francesc Macià helped establish the Catalan constitution of autonomy in 1932, but once again, a military coup—this time led by General Francisco Franco—plunged Spain into a 36-year dictatorship. It wasn't until 1978 that the second Catalan constitution was established, enshrined once again by the revival of the Generalitat. The Catalan nationalist party, Convergencia i Unió (CIU), subsequently went on to dominate local elections for the next quarter of a century. In 2003, it lost to the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (PSC), which in turn has had to share power with two other left-wing parties—Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and Iniciativa Verds-Esquerra Alternativa (IC).These three parties formed the coalition that spearheaded a fresh drive for greater autonomy, and in September 2005, the Catalan Parliament voted overwhelmingly to propose the Estatut. The Spanish Congress subsequently approved it for formal consideration, with Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero saying, "A strong Catalunya will make Spain stronger."
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