Catalunya Sí

Catalunya Sí, also known as CatSí or Catalonia Yes, was a Catalan political platform created in 2011 to bring together civil-society participants, independent candidates and public figures who supported independence for Catalonia. It was not established as a conventional long-standing party with an extensive standalone organization. Instead, its principal function was to provide a political and electoral vehicle through which independentists outside the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) could participate in joint candidacies. The platform emerged during a period of reorganization within the Catalan independence movement and the ERC. Alfred Bosch, an independent writer and political figure, won ERC's internal selection process for the 2011 Spanish general election candidacy. Following his selection, discussions took place among ERC, Reagrupament and Solidaritat about constructing a broader pro-independence electoral offer. The eventual arrangement brought ERC and Reagrupament together with independent figures associated with Catalunya Sí. Solidaritat did not join the coalition, and other possible partners either declined participation or pursued separate positions. Catalunya Sí was formally registered as a political party on 6 October 2011 so that it could participate in an electoral coalition. On 8 October, ERC president Oriol Junqueras, Reagrupament president Joan Carretero and Alfred Bosch publicly announced the Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalunya Sí coalition. The agreement combined ERC's party organization with a platform intended to attract independents and recognized figures from Catalan civil society. Participants associated with the platform included Miquel Sellarès, Gorka Knörr and Josep Cruanyes. The coalition also selected the prominent surgeon Moisès Broggi, then more than one hundred years old, to head its Barcelona Senate list. The coalition contested the 2011 Spanish general election in all four Catalan electoral provinces. Its campaign slogan was República del sí, or Republic of Yes. The Congress lists received 256,393 votes, representing 7.06% of the vote in Catalonia and 1.05% across Spain. Three candidates were elected to the Congress of Deputies: Alfred Bosch and Joan Tardà in Barcelona, and Teresa Jordà in Girona. The elected deputies joined the chamber's mixed group. The coalition therefore gave ERC the same number of Congress seats that the party had won independently in 2008. The Senate campaign, conducted separately, did not secure any seats. Catalunya Sí continued to be used as an electoral platform in the 2012 Catalan regional election cycle. ERC revived the ERC–Catalunya Sí arrangement and incorporated several platform-linked candidates and public figures, including jurist Gemma Calvet, journalist Eva Piquer, writer Jordi Llavina and philosopher Josep Maria Terricabras. The broader negotiations for a united pro-independence candidacy did not produce an agreement among all of the groups involved, and several organizations either ran separately or chose not to contest the election. In 2014, Catalunya Sí supported ERC and The Left for the Right to Decide in the European Parliament election. The coalition was led by Josep Maria Terricabras, a philosopher associated with the platform. In the 2015 Barcelona municipal election, ERC's list led by Alfred Bosch included platform-linked figures such as actor Juanjo Puigcorbé and lawyer Santiago Vidal. These later activities illustrate that Catalunya Sí's significance lay less in an independent electoral apparatus than in its capacity to connect ERC with non-party personalities and pro-independence civil-society networks. The platform is described in the reference material in the past tense, and no current independent operations are documented.

Catalunya Sí developed in the context of the Catalan independence movement's effort to build broader electoral alliances beyond the formal structures of individual parties. Following ERC's internal renewal in 2010, the party held a primary contest to select its candidate for the 2011 Spanish general election. Alfred Bosch won with 65.81% of the vote, defeating ERC secretary general Joan Ridao, who received 30.66%. Bosch's candidacy became the basis for negotiations intended to unite several independentist currents. ERC explored an arrangement involving Solidaritat, Reagrupament and independent personalities. On 4 October 2011, Oriol Junqueras described an electoral-platform model in which ERC would remain the dominant party while members of other groups and unaffiliated figures could join the lists. Reagrupament accepted the proposal, while Solidaritat rejected it and argued that ERC should compete under its own name and program. Catalunya Sí provided the civic and independent component of the eventual arrangement. The platform was registered as a political party on 6 October 2011. Two days later, Oriol Junqueras, Joan Carretero and Alfred Bosch announced the Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalunya Sí coalition at the Barcelona Athenaeum. The coalition sought Catalan independence while also presenting itself as committed to maintaining the Catalan welfare state. Its lists reserved places for independent figures linked to Catalunya Sí, including Miquel Sellarès, Gorka Knörr and Josep Cruanyes. On 11 October, the coalition announced that Moisès Broggi would lead its Barcelona Senate list. In the 2011 Spanish general election, the coalition stood in all four Catalan electoral subdivisions. Its campaign used the slogan República del sí. It won 256,393 Congress votes, equivalent to 7.06% in Catalonia and 1.05% nationally. Alfred Bosch and Joan Tardà were elected in Barcelona, while Teresa Jordà was elected in Girona. The three deputies joined the Congress mixed group. The coalition did not win a Senate seat, despite the related Catalan Agreement of Progress having previously won three Senate seats in the preceding election. Preparations for the 2012 Catalan regional election produced another round of discussions among ERC, Solidaritat, Reagrupament, the CUP and Democràcia Catalana. The negotiations did not result in a unified candidacy. Solidaritat chose to run independently, while Reagrupament and Democràcia Catalana did not stand; ERC subsequently revived the ERC–Catalunya Sí coalition. Platform-linked figures added to the wider slate included Gemma Calvet, Eva Piquer, Jordi Llavina and Josep Maria Terricabras. Catalunya Sí later operated primarily as a supporting and networking vehicle rather than as a separately documented electoral force. In the 2014 European Parliament election it backed ERC and The Left for the Right to Decide coalition, led by Josep Maria Terricabras. During the 2015 Barcelona municipal election, the ERC list led by Alfred Bosch included actor Juanjo Puigcorbé in second place and lawyer Santiago Vidal in the final position, both associated with Catalunya Sí. The platform's network also included cultural and media figures such as Lluís Llach, Anna Sahun, Gerard Quintana, Jordi Carbonell, Ventura Pons, Toni Albà, Miquel Giménez and Àlex Gorina. The available reference material does not document a continuing independent organization after this period.

• 2015

  Platform-linked candidates join Barcelona municipal list

  [1]Catalonia Yesen.wikipedia.org

  Juanjo Puigcorbé and Santiago Vidal appeared on Alfred Bosch's ERC-led Barcelona municipal list.

• 2014

  Support for The Left for the Right to Decide

  [1]Catalonia Yesen.wikipedia.org

  Catalunya Sí supported the ERC-led European Parliament coalition headed by Josep Maria Terricabras.

• 2012

  Coalition revived for the Catalan regional election cycle

  [1]Catalonia Yesen.wikipedia.org

  ERC reused the Catalunya Sí platform and incorporated several independent candidates associated with it.

• 2011

  Platform registered as a political party

  [1]Catalonia Yesen.wikipedia.org

  Catalunya Sí was registered on 6 October 2011, allowing it to participate formally in electoral coalitions.

• 2011

  ERC–Catalunya Sí coalition announced

  [1]Catalonia Yesen.wikipedia.org

  ERC, Reagrupament and Catalunya Sí-linked independents announced a joint candidacy for the Spanish general election.

• 2011

  Three Congress deputies elected

  [1]Catalonia Yesen.wikipedia.org

  The coalition elected Alfred Bosch, Joan Tardà and Teresa Jordà to the Congress of Deputies.

A Catalan pro-independence electoral platform positioned between civil society and established party politics. Catalunya Sí sought to broaden ERC-led candidacies by including independents, cultural figures, professionals and other public personalities who supported Catalan independence and the preservation of the Catalan welfare state.

• Electoral coalition · 2011

  Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalunya Sí

  The principal electoral vehicle associated with Catalunya Sí was the coalition formed with ERC and Reagrupament for the 2011 Spanish general election. It combined ERC's party infrastructure with independent candidates and public figures linked to the Catalunya Sí platform, campaigning for Catalan independence and the protection of the welfare state.

• Electoral platform · 2012

  ERC–Catalunya Sí

  ERC revived the Catalunya Sí label for the 2012 Catalan regional election cycle. The arrangement was designed to incorporate independent candidates and platform-associated personalities into ERC-led lists after broader negotiations among several pro-independence groups failed to produce a single united candidacy.

• 2011República del sí

  Catalonia · Spain

  The campaign slogan used by the Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalunya Sí coalition in the 2011 Spanish general election expressed the coalition's objective of achieving an independent Catalan republic.

  Outcome. The coalition won three Congress seats and no Senate seats.

  Source

• 2012

  Revive the ERC–Catalunya Sí coalitionStrategy

  Background

  Negotiations among several Catalan pro-independence groups did not produce a common candidacy for the regional election.

  Action taken

  ERC reinstated the Catalunya Sí electoral platform and added several associated independent figures to its lists.

  Aftermath

  Catalunya Sí continued to function mainly as an inclusion and networking mechanism within ERC-led candidacies.

  Source

• 2011

  Formalize the platform to enable coalition participationStrategy

  Background

  Catalunya Sí needed a formal legal structure to participate in the planned electoral arrangement with ERC and Reagrupament.

  Action taken

  The platform was registered as a political party on 6 October 2011.

  Aftermath

  Registration enabled the platform to take part in the 2011 coalition and subsequent ERC–Catalunya Sí electoral activity.

  Source

1. 1Catalonia Yesen.wikipedia.org