A court has ordered the closure of the website for the pro-independence 'Strategic Consumption' campaign, which contained a search engine to help users find companies committed to the Catalan economy and "detached from the pressures of the Spanish state". The ruling by commercial court number 11 of Barcelona says that the website, set up by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), is "disloyal and contrary to good faith", and thus confirms interim measures approved in 2019, ordering "the cessation of any action, by any means, with public effects, which would imply the dissemination of the campaign". The pro-independence organization now has twenty days to appeal the case to the Barcelona Provincial Audience.
The ruling fully upholds the demand made by the major business association Foment del Treball, which considered that the ANC was inciting a business "boycott" from a "totally irrational" approach. Likewise, the association alleged that the campaign to promote pro-independence companies "falsified" free competition and affected the public interest. Thus, the court has now determined that "the conduct carried out by the ANC constitutes an obstructing action, in the form of a boycott", as the EFE and ACN agencies reported this Tuesday. This obstructing action cannot be defended in terms of freedom of opinion, as claimed by the entity. In fact, the court said that the exercise of this right does not "protect conduct which constituted unlawful competition". In this regard, the resolution states that the conduct deployed by the ANC went beyond provoking debate or informing consumers.
From negative boycott to positive "buycott"
On December 20th, 2019, the same court partially upheld interim measures requested by the Foment employers' group and ordered the closure of the website, as well as the cessation of the dissemination of the campaign. At that time, the resolution already determined that the organization had launched "material and personal media that incite discrimination" and that "this cannot be protected by freedom of opinion". The ANC then put the campaign on standby until the court process was over. The last publication on the website is from August 26th, 2019.
For the ANC's part, the pro-independence group's lawyer affirmed in September 2019 that the website published details of companies that adhered to various social, economic and national parameters. Therefore, it was not a "negative boycott" aimed at those who did not match those parameters, but rather a "positive buycot", using a play on words with the English verb "buy", even in the Catalan version of the text. Because it encouraged consumers to favour certain companies in their consumer choices, the pro-independence group considered the webpage to be an exercise in freedom of expression that did not discriminate for political reasons against any company.
Objectives of the campaign
The Consum Estratègic campaign which has been put on hold by the court is part of the ANC's broader campaign "Eines de País", or "Country Tools" - a set of initiatives "whose main objective is to empower Catalan society, in this case in the economic sphere, by making everyday consumer decisions". It says that the aim to achieve "an economic reality detached from the political powers and oligopolies that participate in the campaign of fear".
Specifically, the campaign lists ten objectives: "to promote the creation of economic structures disassociated from the companies of IBEX 35 and the political powers of Spain and thus promote a prosperous Catalan fabric that is productive by itself; to empower people in making decisions about everyday consumption; to boost people's confidence and commitment in the Catalan economy; to promote more socially-oriented business structures, such as cooperatives and others; to promote respect among the economic powers for democratic decisions; to make available to people effective tools that facilitate the contracting of everyday services in line with democratic values (proximity, social responsibility, respect for the environment, circular economy, industry 4.0...), and respect for the Catalan language; to promote alternative companies to those participating in the campaign of fear; to create a potential critical mass in consumption of goods and services that enables the establishment of companies detached from politics, that cover the maximum number of strategic sectors of the economy; to promote local consumption that respects the environment; to put supply and demand into contact with products and services more adjusted to the needs of strategic consumers."
Main image: ANC lawyer Xose Senen Rodríguez Castro during the hearing of precautionary measures for the Strategic Consumption website (2019) / ACN