Concept in Definition ABC

In Spain the different autonomies that make up the nation they have their own parliament as a chamber of representation. In the case of Catalonia the institution Parliament receives the name of Generalitat, a popular denomination that refers to the Diputación del General del Kingdom of Aragon (the use of the word general does not have a military meaning but refers to the whole of the society).

A historical brushstroke

This institution dates back to the Middle Ages, when different levels of Catalan society had their own representatives who acted as directors of the kings and, at the same time, supervised the decisions that were made in the general courts of the Crown of Aragon.

The first president of the Generalitat was Berenguer de Cruïlles in the 14th century and in 2017 the head of the Government was Carles Puigdemont. Throughout this period of seven hundred years there have been different episodes of tension politics (between the different social classes that make up the Generalitat, between the institution itself and the monarch of the Crown of Aragon or in relation to the central power of the state).

During the War of Succession at the beginning of the 18th century, the Catalans and Aragonese supported the Habsburg dynasty to rule Spain, but finally the dynasty was imposed militarily Bourbon.

From this victory of the new Spanish monarchy a decree (the Nueva Planta Decree) by which different institutions self-government and, among them, the Generalitat.

When the 11th Republic was established in Spain in 1931, the Catalan people regained their self-government and political autonomy.

However, after the Spanish Civil War, the Generalitat of Catalonia was suspended in its powers and its representatives had to go into exile. With the arrival of the democracy the government of the Generalitat and since then various tense episodes have been revealed between the representatives of this institution and the Spanish central government.

The current controversy between the Generalitat and the Spanish state

Since 2016 there is a parliamentary majority in the Generalitat that defends the independence of Catalonia. Its representatives have launched a process of "disconnection" with the Spanish state with the purpose of proclaiming a Catalan republic. From the central power of the state this claim is not accepted, since it is considered opposite to the Constitution Spanish.

Photos: Fotolia - Marcorubino / JackF