If the Catalan political map was not already complex enough, with eight groups in the Parliament, other formations are seeking to gain a foothold. Aliança Catalana (AC), led by the ultra-nationalist Sílvia Orriols, gave a surprise a year ago by winning the mayorship of Ripoll and has now entered the polls on May 12: the Government’s CIS and the CEO of the Generalitat have given it up to two seats. The speech that worked perfectly in Ripoll, based on an all-out independence movement and the most radical anti-Islamism, on the them-us dialectic, is the basis of the program with which Orriols runs as a candidate for Girona, where they see more options to have representation.
“We believe that the best way for Catalonia to survive as a nation is the declaration of independence, but it is also very important to preserve the language and culture of the country and stop the waves of immigration that have entered Catalonia,” explains Oriol Gès, secretary of the Catalan Alliance Organization.
The independence movement forms the first block of proposals in the electoral program, with commitments such as a unilateral declaration of independence and “expelling the Spanish and French states”, which probably needs to be read more in terms of ideology. But it is a transversal idea in the program. In a context of failure of the process and sovereign demobilization, those of Orriols seek to capture votes from abstention and other parties. “Many citizens have refused to vote for processist parties, such as Junts, ERC or the CUP, which have independence only as an electoral bait,” says Gès.
The second axis is anti-Islamism, another transversal idea, which brings them closer to the extreme right. Among the proposals are closing the borders to “economic immigrants,” repatriating illegal immigrants and deporting those who commit crimes. Also expel prisoners of foreign origin, regular or irregular, which would save, they say, 150 million euros.
“All those who want to enter the house must meet the requirements and integrate into the Catalan language and culture. Multiculturalism is very good, but for other countries,” she emphasizes.
They could be proposals to warm up the campaign. A new party has to attract attention, even if it is to receive criticism, but very similar ideas are defended by Vox and they are going to fish in that fishing ground too. “Vox has received votes from desperate independentists because it was the only party that had an anti-immigration discourse – he assures – but it has done like the processism, where it has powers and has entered governments it has not fulfilled the program but has acted as a crutch. of the PP.”
The economy is another of the axes, with proposals such as a general reduction in taxes, including personal income tax, and eliminating inheritance, donation and estate taxes. “Where the money is best is in the pockets of Catalans,” Gès emphasizes.
