Republican Left of Catalonia

Republican Left of Catalonia Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
President	Oriol Junqueras i Vies
Secretary-General	Marta Rovira i Vergés
Founded	March 19, 1931
Headquarters	C/Calàbria, 166 08015 Barcelona, Spain
Ideology	Catalan independentism, Republicanism, Left-wing nationalism, Social Democracy, Democratic socialism Progressivism
Political position	Left-wing
European affiliation	European Free Alliance
European Parliament Group	European Greens-European Free Alliance
Official colours	Orange
Local Government	1,591 / 66,046
Parliament of Catalonia	10 / 135
Congress of Deputies	3 / 350
Spanish Senate	4 / 264
European Parliament	0 / 54
Website
www.esquerra.cat
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The Republican Left of Catalonia (Catalan: Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC; IPA: [əsˈkɛrə rəpubːɫiˈkanə ðə kətəˈɫuɲə]) is a left wing Catalan independentist political party in Spain. It is also the main sponsor of the independence movement from France and Spain in the territories known among Catalan nationalists as Països Catalans. Occitan Republican Left, formed in 2008, acts as the Aranese section.

Its current president is Oriol Junqueras and its secretary-general is Marta Rovira.

Political principles and representation

Its basic political principles are defined in the Statement of Ideology approved at the 19th National Congress in 1993. This is organised into the three areas that give the organisation its name: Esquerra (commitment to the Left's agenda in the political debate), República (commitment to the Republican form of government vs. Spain's current constitutional monarchy) and Catalunya (Catalan independentism, which, as understood by ERC, comprises the so-called Catalan Countries).

Despite having been one of the main forces behind the movement for amendment, the party eventually opposed the 2006 changes to the Catalan Statute of Autonomy to increase Catalonia's autonomy. It did so on the grounds that it did not do enough to increase Catalan independence. This caused a government crisis with its partners (specially with the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, PSC) which led to an early election in 2006.

Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya has ten seats in the Catalan Parliament, suffering a dramatic setback after the Catalan parliamentary election of 2010, and one seat in the Balearic Parliament. Until 2010, it was one of the three coalition members of the tripartite left-wing Catalan Government, together with Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) and Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV). The coalition was often uneasy due to tensions related to the new Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia.

Out of the Catalan countries, it has three seats (fifth largest group by seats) in the Spanish Parliament and one seat in the European Parliament.

History

Catalonia

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Catalonia

Statute Statute of Autonomy (history) President Artur Mas i Gavarró Government Government Vice President Joana Ortega i Alemany Cabinet Parliament Parliament President Núria de Gispert i Català Judiciary High Tribunal of Justice President: Maria Eugènia Alegret Council of Statutarian Pledges Ombudsman Syndicate of Accounts Audiovisual Council Public order Ministry of Homme Affairs, Institutional Relations and Participation of Catalonia Police of Catalonia Political parties Parliamentary parties CiU, PSC, PPC, ERC, ICV-EUiA, SI, C's Elections 2006 Constitutional referendum 2003 parliament 2006 parliament 2010 parliament Divisions Regional level Provinces Vegueries Comarques Local level Metropolitan area Municipalities

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Led by Francesc Macià in 1931, the party declared an independent Catalan Republic that was curtailed by the new Constitution of the Second Spanish Republic.

In 1934, led by Lluís Companys, the elected Catalan President, the party declared an independent Catalan Republic within the Spanish Federation proposed by Companys, following the entry of right-wing ministers of the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA) into the Government of the Spanish Republic, however the party leaders (including Companys) and all the Catalan Government (called Generalitat) were arrested and jailed for this, and special autonomy laws for Catalonia were suspended until 1936.

In 1936, at the dawn of the Spanish Civil War, ERC decided to become part of the Spanish Popular Front to contest that year's election, which it won. Esquerra became the leading force of the Popular Front in Catalonia and tried to maintain the unity of the Front in the face of growing tensions between the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) and the Communist Party of Spain (PCE).

The party was declared illegal (along with all other participants in the Popular Front) by Francisco Franco after he came to power in 1939 . The former president of the Catalan Generalitat, Lluís Companys, was arrested by German agents in collaboration with Vichy France, returned to Spain and executed in 1940.

The party is also federated with parties in the Balearic Islands and in Northern Catalonia in France, as well as with Republican Left of the Valencian Country in the Valencian Community. Except for their Balearic counterpart, none of the latter currently have any parliamentary representation in their respective territories, though they do hold some municipal councilors.

Presidents

1. Francesc Macià (1931-1933)
2. Lluís Companys (1933-1935)
3. Carles Pi i Sunyer (1933-1935)
4. Lluís Companys (1936-1940)
5. Heribert Barrera (1993-1995)
6. Jaume Campabadal (1995-1996)
7. Jordi Carbonell (1996-2004)
8. Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira (2004-2008)
9. Joan Puigcercós (2008-2011)
10. Oriol Junqueras i Vies (2011)

General Secretaries

1. Joan Lluís Pujol i Font (March 1931 - April 1931)
2. Josep Tarradellas (April 1931 - March 1932)
3. Joan Tauler (March 1932 - 1938)
4. Josep Tarradellas (1938 - 1957)
5. Joan Sauret (1957 - 1976)
6. Heribert Barrera (1976-1987)
7. Joan Hortalà (1987-1989)
8. Àngel Colom Colom (1989-1996)
9. Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira (1996-2004)
10. Joan Puigcercós (2004-2008)
11. Joan Ridao i Martín (2008-2011)

See also

• Catalan Parliament election, 2006
• List of political parties in Catalonia
• Young Republican Left of Catalonia
• Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia

External links

• Site of the party (Catalan)
• Ideological declaration (English) (PDF)
• ERC’s brief history (English) (PDF)
• Joventuts de l'Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya Youth section's site (Catalan)
• Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira (Catalan)