The Parliament

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During my second day in Barcelona, I was given the opportunity by a contact in government to tour the Catalan parliament. This would give me the opportunity to not only interview a member of parliament (MP) but also witness Catalan politics up close.

Arriving at the parliament, I met up my contact and some of her colleagues from the Convergence and Union party, a pro-independence party of the center-right, currently holding the most seats in parliament. I had the chance to attend a session of the Catalan parliament. It was interesting to see delegates favoring independence speaking in Catalan, while those against it giving speeches in Castilian.

During my time at the parliament I had the opportunity to have an in depth conversation with an MP from Convergence and Union. More details on the conversation can be found in my paper, however, one of his most pertinent points explained that the economic crisis has acted as a catalyst for secessionist sentiment. When pushed on the impact of the financial downturn, however, he made it clear that he believe the actions of the constitutional court in Madrid on Catalonia's autonomy were more important in causing the surge in separatist support. His opinions on grievances aligned closely with those of my interview the previous morning.

After our conversation, the deputy asked if I would be interested in meeting the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, or Catalonia's head of government. I enthusiastically answered that I would be honored by the opportunity. Sure enough, after being led upstairs outside the voting chamber, Artur Mas, President of Catalonia, came out to greet delegates and journalists. After a short while, he came to greet me. We had a short conversation concerning my project. After leaving, a journalist asked if we could have a short interview. I made sure to highlight my neutrality in the subject during the process. A day later, I appeared in a Barcelona paper!

Source: Wm