It’s all kicking off in Barcelona – but it’s not football that’s got everyone geared up [TWEETS]

Pop-up print shops for ballot papers


Support us and go ad-free

Spain’s Constitutional Court has banned Catalonia’s independence referendum, but the Catalan authorities have approved and scheduled it for 1 October. Spanish police, meanwhile, have seized 10 million ballot papers.

But the people of Barcelona, and Catalans generally, have a long history of resisting authoritarianism. And they have now taken matters into their own hands in a number of ways.

The game is on

On the weekend of 23-24 September, pop-up print shops appeared on streets in locations across Catalonia. The printing machines are used to print out ballot papers, as well as posters promoting the referendum. And citizens are printing and distributing the ballot papers en masse.

Already, more than a million official ballot papers have reportedly been printed and distributed in this way.

Yellow cards aplenty

The current crisis escalated when police raided print-works and newspapers to seize more than 10 million ballot papers, and even voting boxes.

The crackdown saw more than 700 officials taken in for questioning. And the Guardia Civil (paramilitary police) raided the offices of three Catalan government ministries: Economy, Governance, and Social Affairs. Several Catalan government buildings were raided too, including Finance and the Telecommunications and IT headquarters.

There is some irony with the latter because, during Spain’s civil war, it was the Telephone Exchange that became the symbol for control of Barcelona.

A Spanish own goal?

In possibly an own goal, video evidence has now emerged via ‘Antidisturbios #UIP’ (Spain’s anti-riot police). It shows scores of armoured police vehicles amassed on Barcelona’s docks:

The ships that are used to accommodate the riot police were tracked by National Confederation of Labour (CNT) dock workers, who refused to service the vessels.

Defensive tactics adopted

Catalonia’s President Carles Puigdemont has said that, despite police action, 6,000 ballot boxes are still hidden in secret locations.

And it’s been reported that defence committees, in the style of the 1936 Spanish Revolution, are now springing up across Catalonia to defend the polling stations.

Foul play

Meanwhile, it’s also reported that Colonel Diego Pérez de los Cobos, who was appointed to coordinate the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police), Guardia Civil, and Spanish National Police, was previously prosecuted for torturing a prisoner.

And the colonel’s brother just happens to have been the president of the Constitutional Court that declared a previous Catalan independence referendum unconstitutional.

Clock ticking

The clock is now ticking, as the day of the planned referendum approaches.

And what happens over the next few days will be pivotal. For this struggle is no longer about secession; but the emergence of a progressive social movement that has had enough of centralist, authoritarian rule.

Get Involved!

– Read more about Spain and Catalonia at The Canary Global. Also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more independent global coverage.

Featured image via screenshot

Support us and go ad-free

We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support

The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.

The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.

So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.

Support us

Comments are closed