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Providing the keys to a new state

A group of civil societies are behind a project to answer the burning questions on independence

How will electoral districts be defined in an independent Catalonia? Will the country need its own army? Should we leave the Eurozone? Who would be Catalonia's closest foreign allies? What would happen to the property of Catalan citizens in Spain? Would driving licenses still be valid? Would the country have its own welfare state? Would Spanish continue to be a co-official language? Would infrastructure improve? What would be the country's relationship be with Spain? Would Catalonia compete in the Olympic Games?

These are some of the questions answered by El Clauer (wwww.elclauer.cat), an initiative of 14 associations in favour of Catalan independence. The project aims to show the viability of a Catalan state. El Clauer's conclusions revolve around 12 specific issues that address the main doubts raised by the self-determination process.

Òmnium Cultural is the main organisation behind the idea, which includes the Assemblea Nacional Catalana, the Associació Catalana de Professionals, the Associació de Municipis per la Independència, the Cercle Català de Negocis, Ciemen, the Col·lectiu Emma, the Ens de la comunicació associativa, the Fundació Catalunya Estat, La Fàbrica, the Plataforma per la Llengua, the Plataforma pro seleccions esportives catalanes, Sobirania i Justícia, and Sobirania i Progrés. All of whom are working to include civil society in this historic moment.

The group's main aim is to refute the hypotheses of fear emanating from the Spanish nationalist camp. However, it is also to provide serious answers, even when the issues addressed have little or no substance (such as the unfounded prediction by the Spanish minister of foreign affairs, José Manuel García Margallo, which condemned an independent Catalonia to an eternal existence on the sidelines with no recognition). Thus, the issues raised are dealt with in a manner that avoids propaganda and exaggeration and puts forward the most rational and viable view given the current circumstances of uncertainty.

The organisations behind the initiative are keen to remind people that the final word on the future of an independent state will be decided in parliament and that El Clauer is not providing a blueprint for a constitution. That, of course, does not prevent the rational debate and exploration of the most important questions currently on the table.

Accessible to all

One of El Clauer's strongest points is that the project takes great pains over the information it uses, explaining its arguments in an accessible way.

“It is presented in a practical way because we did not want to make grand, rhetorical arguments, but rather respond to the questions that real people are asking,” says journalist Francesc-Marc Álvaro, who, along with the sociologist Salvador Cardús, has coordinated the writing and editing of the texts.

El Clauer had a positive reception when it launched last year, and rapidly became a major point of reference in the sovereignty debate, especially as the Internet has allowed web users of all stripes to contribute to the arguments. The project organisers see the project as “somewhere to find the information many of us debate and ask about in conversations in cafés, family meals or chats while waiting for the bus.”

Questions on sovereignty limited to a dozen issues

The questions and doubts raised by the subject of Catalan independence are numerous. Already in the clash of nationalist ideologies we have seen exaggeration and fear-mongering used for political purposes, creating a minefield in which information is distorted and twisted, when clarity and reason are needed. In order to keep the initiative more manageable and accessible, El Clauer project focuses on only 12 of the most important issues. The subjects dealt with in the project refer to: government institutions, Catalonia's relationship with the international community, rights and citizenship, public finances, companies, the welfare state, language and culture, education, infrastructure, immigration, Catalonia's relationship with Spain and sport. In all, El Clauer poses 78 individual questions.

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