Spanish unity march fills Barcelona streets

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of a
unified Spain filled Barcelona's streets on
Sunday in one of the biggest shows of force
yet by the so-called silent majority that has
watched as regional political leaders push
for Catalan independence.
Political parties opposing a split by
Catalonia from Spain had a small lead in an
opinion poll published on Sunday, the first
since Madrid called a regional election to
try to resolve the country's worst political
crisis in four decades.
Polls and recent elections have shown that
about half the electorate in the wealthy
northeastern region, which is already
autonomous, oppose secession from Spain,
but a vocal independence movement has
brought the current crisis to a head.
Spain's central government called an
election for Dec. 21 on Friday after sacking
Catalonia's president Carles Puigdemont,
dissolving its parliament and dismissing its
government. That followed the assembly's
unilateral declaration of independence in a
vote boycotted by three national parties.
The regional government claimed it had a
mandate to push ahead with independence
following an unofficial referendum on Oct. 1
which was ruled illegal under Spanish law
and mostly boycotted by unionists.
Waving thousands of Spanish flags and
singing "Viva España", protesters on Sunday
turned out in the largest display of support
for a united Spain since the beginning of
the crisis -- underlining the depth of division
in Catalonia itself.
"I'm here to defend Spanish unity and the
law," said Alfonso Machado, 55, a salesman
standing with a little girl with Spanish flags
in her hair.
"Knowing that in the end there won't be
independence, I feel sorry for all the people
tricked into thinking there could be and the
divisions they've driven through Catalan
society."
Slight Unionist lead
The poll of 1,000 people by Sigma Dos for
newspaper El Mundo showed unionist
parties winning 43.4 percent support and
pro-independence parties 42.5 percent.
The survey was taken from Monday to
Thursday, just as the central government
prepared to take control of Catalonia.
Madrid said on Saturday that secessionist
politicians, including Puigdemont, were free
to take part in the election. The hardline
CUP has been unclear if it would.
The deposed Catalan government will soon
have to make difficult decisions,
Puigdemont's former deputy Oriol
Junqueras said on Sunday in an editorial in
online newspaper El Punt Avui. He stopped
short of saying his ERC party would take
part in the election.
"We need a shared strategy ... it's important
to weave solid alliances with those who are
willing to build a state that serves its
citizens," he said, possibly alluding to a
rumoured alliance between the ERC and the
Catalan arm of the anti-austerity Podemos
party.
Such an alliance could put the
independence movement in difficult position
as it would mean a main secession
supporter joining forces with parties that
reject Madrid's hard line but do not support
separatism.
With weeks to go before the election, the
poll showed the CUP, kingmaker for the pro-
secessionists in the dismissed 135-seat
parliament, would win seven seats, down
from a current 10.
The pro-independence coalition Junts pel Si,
which held 62 seats previously, was split
into parties PDeCat and ERC for the poll as
they are unlikely to run on a single
platform. The two would win between 54
and 58 seats in total, the poll showed.
At Sunday's rally, former European
Parliament president Josep Borrell called
for unionist voters to turn out in December
to ensure independence supporters lose
their stranglehold on the regional
parliament.
"Maybe we're here because many of us
during elections didn't go and vote. Now we
have a golden opportunity. This time,
nobody should stay at home," Borrell said to
cheering crowds.
Damage to Catalonia
Puigdemont called on Saturday for peaceful
opposition to Madrid's takeover. But he was
vague on precisely what steps the
secessionists would take as Spanish
authorities move into Barcelona to enforce
control.
European countries, the United States and
Mexico have also rejected the Catalan
declaration of independence and expressed
support for Spain's unity.
But emotions are running high and the next
few days will be tricky for Madrid as it
embarks on enforcing direct rule and
putting officials in administrative roles.
National police were accused of heavy-
handedness during the Oct 1 referendum.
Officers of the regional police force, called
the Mossos d'Esquadra in Catalan, were
stationed in main public and government
buildings on Sunday.
But the force is believed to have divided
loyalties. The central government has
removed the Mossos' chief, Josep Lluis
Trapero, and said units could be replaced if
warranted.
In an open letter on Sunday, Interior
Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido praised the
Mossos for their work and urged them to
accept temporary direction from Madrid.
The main secessionist group, the Catalan
National Assembly, has urged civil servants
not to follow orders from the central
government and to mount "peaceful
resistance", while the pro-independence
trade union CSC has called a strike.
Puigdemont, Junqueras and their advisors
left the Catalan government offices on
Friday, newspaper La Vanguardia reported
on Sunday, effectively handing the building
over to Madrid and making a forced
eviction on Monday less likely.
Since the return of democracy in the late
1970s Spain has suffered several traumatic
episodes, including an attempted military
coup in 1981, a violent Basque separatist
conflict, and more recently an economic
crisis. The Catalan issue is however the
biggest challenge to the territorial integrity
of what is now a progressive European
Union nation.
The chaos has prompted an exodus of
businesses from Catalonia, which
contributes about a fifth of Spain's
economy, the fourth-largest in the euro
zone. Tourism to Barcelona has been hit
and markets have darted up and down on
the fast-moving developments.
European leaders have also denounced the
push, fearing it could fan separatist
sentiment around the continent.