1. Economic development and political institutions
Dr. Joaquín M. Molins
Emeritus professor Political Science
Autonomus University of Barcelona
Brussels meeting, January 2017

2. Inclusive Institutions allows Sustained Prosperity
Acemeglu and Robinson argument
Rule of Law

3. The long road towards nowhere or the “so-called the Catalan problem”
: A regional conservative government: Increasing powers for better public policies? “Catalonia First” or a nationalist strategy to “build a nation” and be ready for secession

4. The long road towards nowhere or the “so-called the Catalan problem”:
Left Coalition government:
A New Self-Rule Law (Estatuto de Autonomía 2006):
- Citizens’ demands more moderated in their preferences than political elites
- Increasing powers without constitutional reform (Colino, Publius vol.39.2)
- Sentence of the Constitutional Court (2010) and a “rally” against the “rule of Law”

5. The long road towards nowhere or the “so-called the Catalan problem”:
Conservative government From the negotiation of a fiscal agreement to the referendum demand
From symbolic to legal breakdown: Generalitat doesn’t follow the rules of the new Self-rule Law for change (2/3 of seats in Parliament)
The “deligitimation of Institutions”, mainly of the Constitutional Court
2015-present
Patriotic government and the forgotten citizens

6. Catalan Nationalism’s narrative:
Taxation-issue: Spain squeezes Catalonia.
Borell & Llorach (2015) “Las cuentas y los cuentos de la independencia”
Constitutional-issue: Spain discriminates Catalonia.
F. De Carreras (2016) “Discurso ingreso Real Academia”
Culture-issue: Spain marginalises Catalonia.
Catalan language :94,3 speaks;80,4 speaks,60,4 writes (Idescat 2013)
Political-issue: Spain bullies Catalonia.
Molins & Medina (2015) “El auge de la demanda secesionista en Cataluña y el Pais Vasco”, CIS

7. CONSTITUTIONAL MISTRUTHS IN A POST-TRUTH CONTEXT*
Right to decide vs self-determination
Catalan referendum’s demand vs. Two decisions allready taken on self- rule
Spanish Constitunional Court position
German Constitutional Court position
Italian Constitutional Court position
Venetian Convention on best practiques on referendums
*(J. Suiter, Political Insigh, Dec 2016))

8. THANK YOU!