The president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, defended this Wednesday that his party must focus on facing the main challenges of Catalonia with the aim of consolidating a more solid "democratically" independence against a Spanish State that he accuses of resorting to instruments far from democratic standards, among them repression.
In an interview on Catalunya Ràdio reported by Europa Press, he celebrated the decision of the Supreme Court (TS) this Tuesday to grant amnesty to both him and other leaders convicted for the 1-O. However, he admitted that he also feels indignation: "We held a referendum, and if it couldn't go further it was because of the beatings and because of prison."
Junqueras emphasized that "it is good to explain that the repression has been brutal and has had an impact that goes far beyond the strictly repressed individuals and affects families, many families in this country. It is good to remember this today and to value the political victory that this amnesty represents."
He pointed out that it is positive for political decisions to return to being in the hands of the citizens instead of being conditioned by the courts, and he insisted that independence must address the everyday problems of Catalonia, such as access to housing or improving salaries, to build a social majority through their work in the institutions.
When asked if he relates being the best-rated Catalan leader, according to the latest barometer from the Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió (CEO), to a way of doing politics considered useful by the citizens, he responded affirmatively and added: "The objective of repression is precisely to corner you."
Aliança Catalana and independence
He rejected that the emergence of Aliança Catalana (AC) is due to a supposed disenchantment with the independentist political class after the 1-O and argued that the opposite occurs: "Precisely the referendum of 2017 delayed the appearance of a phenomenon like Aliança Catalana for a long time."
He explained that, in his opinion, the fact that AC has appeared later than other formations of similar ideology in different European countries is due to the fact that "the cause of independence contributed enormously to channel many expectations and to hinder the emergence of this type of phenomenon."
To conclude, he has claimed that "Catalonia has been proud for generations of being an open political project," and he has defended that independence must continue to be built from this inclusive perspective.