Spanish politicians are spinning the Catalan crisis to suit their own interests | Carlos Delclós

Both left and right have refused to deal with the conflict as an administrative issue, leaving it to be consumed by dog-whistle nationalism

All last week, Barcelona went to sleep to the sound of police helicopters hovering overhead, as smoke rose in columns from burning barricades in the city centre. Each day brought new images of riot police firing foam and rubber bullets into large crowds and swatting stragglers with batons. Each day, too, brought news of angry young people in hooded hordes sowing chaos in the streets. Helmeted television journalists scrambled behind them, broadcasting a shaky live stream. The background noise evoked war films and video games.

Things have become messy in Catalonia. The harsh sentencing of pro-independence politicians and civic leaders has unleashed a tidal wave of indignation. On the day it was announced, thousands of protesters shut down the Barcelona-El Prat airport, the action called via an anonymous, highly centralised app called Tsunami Democritic. Over the next several days, roads were blocked, railways sabotaged and demonstrations held, and pro-independence mayors announced they would march into the capital to protest.

Continue reading...