Catalonia
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Capital | Barcelona | ||
Official languages | Spanish and Catalan In Val d'Aran, also Aranese. | ||
Area
- % of Spain |
Ranked 6th
6,3% | ||
Population
- Density |
Ranked 2nd
190,73/km² | ||
Demonym |
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Statute of Autonomy | December 22, 1979 | ||
ISO 3166-2 | CT | ||
Congress seats Senate seats |
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President | Pasqual Maragall i Mira (PSC) | ||
Generalitat de Catalunya |
Catalonia (Catalan: Catalunya, Spanish: Cataluña, French: Catalogne) is a region and Spanish autonomous region (Comunidad autónoma) in the north-east of the Spanish state. The historic region of Catalonia also includes the historic county of Roussillon to the north, a province of France since 1659 that Catalan nationalists refer to as Catalunya Nord, i.e. "North Catalonia". The term "Catalonia" is sometimes used to refer to the whole Catalan-speaking area, in line with the Pan-Catalanist strand of Catalan nationalism that sees all territories where the language is spoken as being a single nation, and advocating political independence from Spain for this nation. The whole area is often referred to as els Països Catalans, i.e. "the Catalan Countries" by nationalists, a term either embraced or resented in these regions.
The autonomous region of Catalonia covers an area of 31,950 sq. km. with a population of 6.3 million, and its capital is Barcelona.
Administration and Government of Catalonia
The official name of the Government of Catalonia (including the Council, the Parliament and the President) is Generalitat de Catalunya in Catalan (Generalidad de Cataluña in Spanish though in practice this form is rare, the tendency being to use the Catalan name in Spanish). Some people wrongly apply this name only to the Council, as if it were the same as Cabinet. However, the Generalitat is the (autonomous) Catalan system of government within the Spanish state, not under the direct authority of the central government in Madrid.
The region has widespread autonomy and for example its own police force Mossos d'Esquadra, coexisting with the Guardia Civil and Policía Nacional, under the authority of the Spanish government.
Unlike the autonomous communities of Navarre and the Basque Country, it lacks its own fiscal system, thus the economic sustainment of the regional administration depends almost entirely on the Spanish government budgets.
See comarques of Catalonia for the administrative division in comarques (roughly equivalent to counties).
Spain administration divides Catalonia into four provinces: Barcelona, Girona (Spanish name: Gerona), Lleida (Spanish name: Lérida), Tarragona.
See History of Catalonia, Catalan Countries
Language
Catalonia constitutes the original nucleus and the most important and extensive territory of Catalan language and culture, but the norm in Catalonia is Catalan-Castilian bilingualism, and this is one of the first things the visitor notices upon entering the territory. Being spoken at in Catalan (especially being answered in Catalan after asking a question in Spanish) is one key reason cited by other Spaniards for disliking Catalans and considering them to be insular and proud. However, only a minority of nationalists do this deliberately, and outsiders often put down to arrogance what is really a simple language mix-up.
Catalan is the predominant language in the countryside, with some older people struggling to express themselves in Spanish. Barcelona, due to its cosmopolitanism, is the one place in Catalonia which is more Spanish-speaking than Catalan-speaking.
See Catalan language for further information.
Politics of Catalonia
A Catalan nationalist movement arose in the nineteenth century, and, when the Spanish Republic was declared in 1931, Catalonia became an autonomous region. In 1939 Francisco Franco came to power and suppressed Catalan autonomy, and tried also to suppress the Catalan language and Catalan culture. During the last decade of Franco's rule renewed nationalist sentiment built up in Catalonia.
In 1975 Franco died and democracy was restored soon after. Once again Catalonia became an autonomous region within Spain. The Catalan nationalist leader Jordi Pujol came to power in the first regional elections in 1980, and his party, Convergence and Unity (Convergència i Unió or CiU), held power for 23 years.
Despite his radical background, Pujol became increasingly conservative in office, and supported Jose Maria Aznar's conservative People's Party (PP) government in Madrid. Nationalist sentiment became increasingly dissatisfied with his rule, specially ERC and PNLC. At the same time, the Catalan Socialists' Party (Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, PSC), based in the industrial heartland of Barcelona, regained its strength.
One of the keys to Catalan politics is the fact that Barcelona, because it attracts migrants from all over Spain and from Latin America, is a majority Spanish-speaking city, particularly in working-class areas, while the rural regions middle and high-class areas remain solidly Catalan-speaking. The Socialists have become the party of those who resent the dominance of middle-class Catalan nationalists over Barcelona. In any case, while Catalan is experiencing a spectacular revival, the dominating presence of Castilian-speakers will continue to make universal use of Catalan unlikely.
At the regional elections held on November 16 2003, at which Pujol retired, the combined parties of the left defeated the CiU for the first time, and Pasqual Maragall i Mira became President of the Generalitat. Maragall's Socialists, however, actually lost seats: the big winners were the Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya or ERC), which favours full Catalan independence, and the Greens. While PSC mantains the post of President of the Generalitat (Maragall), ERC nominates the conseller en cap (prime minister) — currently, Bargalló.
Maragall's government will thus be an uncomfortable alliance between the PSC and the ERC, because the ERC favours more left-wing policies and progress towards Catalan independence, both of which the PSC opposes.
Parties
- CiU — Convergència i Unió (Convergence and Unity) - coalition
- ERC — Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia)
- IV-EA — Iniciativa Verds-Esquerra Alternativa (Green Initiative-Left Alternative)
- PP — Partit Popular (People's Party)
- PSC — Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (Socialist Party of Catalonia)
Summary of votes and seats
Votes and seats are compared with those won at the 1999 election.
Voters: 5,307,837 Voting: 3,319,276 62.5% Invalid votes: 8,793 00.3% Valid votes: 3,310,483 99.7% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Party Votes % Seats ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Convergència i Unió 1,024,425 30.9 (-06.8) 46 (-10) Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya 544,324 16.4 (+07.7) 23 (+11) Iniciativa Verds-Esquerra Alternativa 241,163 07.3 (+04.8) 9 (+06) Partit Popular 393,499 11.9 (+02.4) 15 (+03) Partit Socialista de Catalunya 1,031,454 31.2 (-06.6) 42 (-10) Others 75,618 02.3 - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 3,310,483 135 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geography
The Spanish autonomous comunity of Catalonia borders on Valencia to the south, Aragon to the west, France and Andorra to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east and southeast.
Mountains:
- Catalan Pyrenees: Val d'Aran in the north face, Pica d'Estats 3141 m., Puigmal 2911 m., Cerdanya depression, Perthus pass (near the ancient Roman road).
- Catalan Litoral mountains: Montseny, Montserrat, Montsant.
- Iberic system: Maestrat.
Major rivers:
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Catalonia
- Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, Tarragona
- Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí
- Parc Güell, Barcelona
- Palau Güell, Barcelona
- Casa Milà, Barcelona
- Poblet Monastery, Poblet, Tarragona province
- Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona
- Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona
See also:
Traditions
Catalonia's festivals and traditions unify Catalan society and help to give it its particular character. Amongst the most striking of festive events are the correfocs, in which "devils" play with fire and with the people. These devils are not the incarnation of evil; they are sprightly and festive, dancing to the sound of the tambourine and the traditional oboe, while they set off their fireworks.
But perhaps the most spectacular of the Catalan festivals are those of the colles castelleres, groups of enthusiasts who form impressive human towers (up to ten people high towers). This is an old tradition of the Tarragona region, which has now spread to many parts of Catalonia, and has become a real spectacle, or sport, that attracts thousands of Catalans. Amongst other important festivities are the carnival in Vilanova i la Geltrú and the Patum in Berga.
Then, there is the very special music of the cobles, the wind bands that play sardanes. The sardana is a circular, open dance, that originated in the Empordà region (north of the country by the Mediterranean sea and the Pyrenees (Catalan Pirineus), and is now danced in many squares and streets. Anyone can join in.
Like in other countries there is the tradition of Santa Claus, in Catalonia is very popular the figure of the Tió de Nadal.
The anthem of Catalonia is "Els Segadors" (The Reapers). National day is September 11, after the defeat and surrender of Barcelona to the French-Castilian army of Philip V of Spain.