The
Republican Left of Catalonia is a left-wing
Catalan independentistCatalan separatism is a political movement which supports the independence of Catalonia from Spain and France. It is sometimes extended to the so-called "Catalan Countries", the whole Catalan-speaking domain .The Estelada flag, in its blue and red versions, has become its main symbol.- History...
political party in
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
campaigning for the
independenceIndependence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty....
of
CataloniaCatalonia is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain. The capital city is Barcelona.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,364,078. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the...
from this country. It is also the main sponsor of the independence movement from
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
and
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
in the territories known among
Catalan nationalistsCatalan nationalism, or Catalanism , is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or full independence of Catalonia....
as
Països Catalans.
Its current president is
Joan Puigcercós i BoixassaJoan Puigcercós is a Spanish Catalan politician who serves as president of the Republican Left of Catalonia...
and its secretary-general is Joan Ridao i Martín.
Political principles and representation
Its basic political principles are defined in the Statement of Ideology approved at the 19th National Congress in 1993. This is organised into the three areas that give the organisation its name:
EsquerraIn politics, left-wing, political left, leftist and the Left are terms used to describe a number of positions and ideologies. They are most commonly used to refer to support for changing traditional social orders or for creating a more egalitarian distribution of wealth and privilege...
(commitment to the Left's agenda in the political debate),
RepúblicaA republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people have an impact on its government. The word 'republic' is derived from the Latin phrase res publica which can be translated as "a public affair".Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their...
(commitment to the Republican form of government vs. Spain's current
constitutional monarchyA constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written , unwritten or blended constitution...
) and
CatalunyaCatalonia is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain. The capital city is Barcelona.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,364,078. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the...
(
Catalan independentismCatalan separatism is a political movement which supports the independence of Catalonia from Spain and France. It is sometimes extended to the so-called "Catalan Countries", the whole Catalan-speaking domain .The Estelada flag, in its blue and red versions, has become its main symbol.- History...
, which, as understood by ERC, comprises the so-called "Catalan Countries").
Despite having been one of the main forces behind the movement for amendment, the party eventually opposed the 2006 changes to the
Catalan Statute of AutonomyThe Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia provides Catalonia's basic institutional regulations. It defines the rights and obligations of the citizens of Catalonia , the political institutions of the Catalan nationality, their competences and relations with the rest of Spain and the financing of the...
to increase Catalonia's autonomy. It did so on the grounds that it did not do enough to increase Catalan independence. This caused a government crisis with its partners (specially with the PSC) which led to an
early election in 2006Elections to the Parliament of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain, were held on November 1 2006.-Background:The November 2006 Catalan parliament election was an early one...
.
Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya has currently 21 seats (3rd group by seats) in the regional Catalan Parliament, where it is one of the three coalition members of the current tripartite left-wing
Catalan GovernmentThe Generalitat de Catalunya is the institution under which the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia is politically organised...
. It was briefly expelled from this coalition in May 2006 because of the many tensions the PSC-PSOE (
Socialists' Party of CataloniaSocialists' Party of Catalonia is a political party in Catalonia, Spain. It is federated with Partido Socialista Obrero Español. Its web site is http://www.socialistes.org-First Secretaries of PSC:#Joan Reventós i Carner...
) and ERC had accumulated during their coalition government, being the turning point ERC's opposition in the last instance to the project of a new
Statute of AutonomyThe Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia provides Catalonia's basic institutional regulations. It defines the rights and obligations of the citizens of Catalonia , the political institutions of the Catalan nationality, their competences and relations with the rest of Spain and the financing of the...
in which redaction ERC has had partial lead.
It has 3 seats (5th group by seats) in the
Spanish ParliamentThe Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
and 1 seat in the
European ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union , it forms the bicameral legislative branch of the Union's institutions and has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
History
Led by Francesc Macià in 1931, the party declared an independent Catalan Republic that was curtailed by the new Constitution of the
Second Spanish RepublicThe Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14, 1931, when King Alfonso XIII left the country following local and municipal elections in which republican candidates won the majority of votes in urban areas and April 1, 1939, when the last of the Republican ...
.
In 1934, led by Lluís Companys, the elected Catalan President, the party declared an independent Catalan Republic within the
Spanish Federation proposed by Companys, following the entry of right-wing ministers of CEDA into the Government of the Spanish Republic, however the party leaders (including Companys) and all the Catalan Government (called
GeneralitatThe Generalitat de Catalunya is the institution under which the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia is politically organised...
) were arrested and jailed for this, and special autonomy laws for Catalonia were suspended until 1936 .
In 1936, at the dawn of the
Spanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil War was a major conflict that devastated Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. It began after an attempted coup d'état by a group of Spanish Army generals against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of president Manuel Azaña...
, ERC decided to become part of the Spanish Popular Front to contest that year's election, which it won. Esquerra became the leading force of the
Popular Front in Catalonia and tried to maintain the unity of the Front in the face of growing tensions between the
POUMPoum is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.Poum sits within the world's largest lagoon and is rich in Kanak culture...
and
CommunistsThe Communist Party of Spain is the third largest national political party of Spain. It is the largest member organization of the coalition Izquierda Unida and has influence in the largest union of Spain, Workers' Commissions .The youth organization of PCE is Unión de Juventudes Comunistas de...
.
The party was declared illegal (along with all other participants in the
Popular Front) by
Francisco FrancoFrancisco Franco Bahamonde, commonly known as Francisco Franco , or simply Franco, was a military general and dictator of Spain from October 1936, and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in 1975...
after he came to power in 1939 . The former president of the Catalan
GeneralitatThe Generalitat de Catalunya is the institution under which the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia is politically organised...
, Lluís Companys, was arrested by German agents in collaboration with
Vichy FranceVichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944. This government, which succeeded the Third Republic, officially called itself the French State , in contrast with the previous designation, "French Republic." Marshal...
, returned to Spain and executed in 1940.
The party is also federated with parties in the
Balearic IslandsThe Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula....
and in
Northern CataloniaNorthern Catalonia is a term which is sometimes used,particularly in Catalan writings, to refer tothe territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyreneesin 1659. The equivalent term in French,...
in France, as well as with
Republican Left of the Valencian CountryRepublican Left of the Valencian Country is a Valencian left nationalist and republican party.The original ERPV was founded in 1933, then disbanded in 1935...
in the
Valencian CommunityThe Valencian Community is an Autonomous Community located in central and south-eastern Spain. It is divided into three provinces, from south to north: Alicante, Valencia and Castellón....
. Except for their Balearic counterpart, none of the latter currently have any parliamentary representation in their respective territories, though they do hold some municipal councilors.
Presidents of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
- Francesc Macià i Llussà
Francesc Macià i Llussà was the 122
nd President of Catalonia formerly a Catalan officer in the Spanish Army.-Life:...
(1931-1933)
- Lluís Companys i Jover
Lluís Companys i Jover was the 123
rd President of Catalonia from 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War.He was a lawyer and leader of the political party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya...
(1933-1935)
- Carles Pi i Sunyer (1933-1935)
- Lluís Companys i Jover
Lluís Companys i Jover was the 123
rd President of Catalonia from 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War.He was a lawyer and leader of the political party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya...
(1936-1940)
- Heribert Barrera (1993-1995)
- Jaume Campabadal (1995-1996)
- Jordi Carbonell i de Ballester
Jordi Carbonell i de Ballester is a Spanish Catalan politician and philologist.A graduate in Romance philology from the University of Barcelona, Jordi Carbonell was a professor in Catalan Language at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, from which he was expelled in 1972 for political reasons...
(1996-2004)
- Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira
Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira is the Vice-president of the Catalan Government. From 1996 to 2008 he was the leader of ERC Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya ....
(2004-2008)
- Joan Puigcercós i Boixassa
Joan Puigcercós is a Spanish Catalan politician who serves as president of the Republican Left of Catalonia...
(2008-present)
General Secretaries of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
- Joan Lluís Pujol i Font (March 1931 - April 1931)
- Josep Tarradellas i Joan
Josep Tarradellas i Joan , Marquess of Tarradellas in 1985, was a Spanish Catalan politician.In 1931 he became general secretary of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya...
(April 1931 - March 1932)
- Joan Tauler (March 1932 - 1938)
- Josep Tarradellas i Joan
Josep Tarradellas i Joan , Marquess of Tarradellas in 1985, was a Spanish Catalan politician.In 1931 he became general secretary of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya...
(1938 - 1957)
- Joan Sauret (1957 - 1976)
- Heribert Barrera (1976-1987)
- Joan Hortalà (1987-1989)
- Àngel Colom Colom (1989-1996)
- Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira
Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira is the Vice-president of the Catalan Government. From 1996 to 2008 he was the leader of ERC Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya ....
(1996-2004)
- Joan Puigcercós i Boixassa
Joan Puigcercós is a Spanish Catalan politician who serves as president of the Republican Left of Catalonia...
(2004-2008)
- Joan Ridao i Martín (2008-present)
See also
- Catalan Parliament election, 2006
Elections to the Parliament of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain, were held on November 1 2006.-Background:The November 2006 Catalan parliament election was an early one...
- List of political parties in Catalonia
- Young Republican Left of Catalonia
- Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia
The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia provides Catalonia's basic institutional regulations. It defines the rights and obligations of the citizens of Catalonia , the political institutions of the Catalan nationality, their competences and relations with the rest of Spain and the financing of the...
External links