The president of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Elisenda Paluzie, announced on Saturday that the organization will increase the pressure on the Catalan government to take "effective actions": "It's time to get a move on. We are frustrated because we can see that the pro-independence majority is ineffective and we're going to demand results. We want to know if they're getting ready for independence or not," she said.
At an event this Saturday afternoon at the Auditorium of the Barcelona Forum, the ANC - the largest of Catalonia's pro-independence civil society groups - presented its new strategic plan for the coming months. The Assembly wants to prevent "protests against repression from steering us off the path to independence", and for this reason it has announced new actions of an "exploratory and risky" nature. These initiatives intend to "get the public ready for the unilateral path" and start creating "effective tools for the country".
Translation: Everyone asks the question: Where are we going? Let's not let the repression make us lose our way. Let's correct our course. Let's be clear where we have to go. Let's get back on the path #TowardsIndependence — Catalan Nacional Assembly
The ANC's new strategic plan reaffirms the commitment to a unilateral approach and considers that the possibility of a referendum on independence agreed with the Spanish state is not realistic. "Calling for a negotiated referendum now and, in addition, for one with three options, takes us back to where we were in 2013. It weakens us. It doesn't help", argued Paluzie. In addition, she asked the Catalan government that if it negotiates, to do so "with a spirit of victory".
The ANC president admitted that there is a "lack of political leadership and an inconsistency between speech and action" and warned that if Torra's executive does not do what it should, the only option will be to replace it. "We have to stop fooling ourselves and I don't want to fool you: we're talking with the parties, but the positions are distant and there is no agreement on what we have to do from now on. Unity is difficult," he admitted .
@epaluzie: "We'll carry out campaigns of pressure and will monitor the government. If it doesn't do what it promised, the alternative will be to replace it. It will no longer represent people. But we're optimistic. The independence supporters are there and we have to mobilize ourselves #TowardsIndependence — Catalan Nacional Assembly
For this reason, the ANC has insisted that it is necessary to start from the people and the civil bodies to carry out actions to implement the republic, such as strategic consumption or primary elections among the independence movement. "We have to start creating tools for the country and start creating the republic just by actually doing so, not by saying that we're doing so," the ANC president asserted.
The creation of national structures
Paluzie acknowledged that on October 1st 2017 "we weren't prepared to make the republic effective" and stressed the need to create effective republican structures. For this reason, the ANC has announced the action "You vote, you count", which will work to create tools for the country. As explained, the objective of this initiative is to ensure that all sub-governmental institutions in Catalonia are governed by people who support independence.
The ANC believes that in order to achieve independence, professional associations, unions, university bodies and, in general, all Catalan institutions have to have pro-republican leadership. In fact, action in this area is already underway in chambers of commerce.
@MontseSolerPrat and @montserratrm47 present the campaign "You vote, you count", which aims to help build independence -supporting candidatures in the country's main institutions. For example, in Chambers of Commerce, which are basic for a new model #TowardsIndependence— Catalan Nacional Assembly
"Strategic consumption"
Another measure announced by the ANC to implement the Catalan Republic is that of "strategic consumption". This initiative seeks to influence the economic environment via people's everyday spending decisions. The ANC will promote companies that share republican values and promote the creation of economic structures that, through commerce, help to strengthen the Catalan productive fabric. To achieve this, the body has opened a web portal with a search engine enabling users to find businesses committed to these values.