As if the issue of Catalonian secession wasn’t fraught enough, some of its most committed advocates are now arguing that the terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils last week demonstrate the region’s readiness for independence. Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, for his part, has suggested that the vehicle attacks that left 15 dead require regional differences to be cast aside in the battle against jihadism. The debate about Catalonian independence has always been a heated, complex one in Spain. Now that the tragic events of last week are being introduced into the discussion, it will become even more so.
Some of the more fervent supporters of Catalonian secession have been particularly active on social media since the attacks last week, claiming that the rapid response of the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalonian police), the region’s president Carles Puigdemont and Barcelona’s mayor Ada Colau show that Catalonia is perfectly capable of acting by itself, without support from Madrid.
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