Everything goes very fast, very fast in Catalonia, especially in the last month and especially in the last two weeks. And it goes fast, because in Spain corruption cases also follow each other, becoming the shadow of pp leaders and, in general, of old bipartisanship. The situation in Catalonia has two channels of events, one in the area and the other in the rest of Spain.

The lehendakari of the Generalitat, Artur Mas, convened on 14 October last the alternative 9N consultation, which caused a great stir among the sovereign parties. The opposite is true in Spain. The pp and the PSOE welcomed the announcement of the consultation and underlined its importance. This was not a consultation or anything. “Make a thousand if you want,” said authorities and journalists from the Brunete Media speakers.

Until 27 October last, the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, announced that he would contest the consultation. What happened in two weeks? Corruption gives way to Spain. First with the black cards of Caja Madrid, then with the boxes B of former Interior Minister of pp. Angel Acebes and Bárcena, and last week with the Operation Púnica, where dozens of pp charges for corruption were arrested. On October 25, after Caja Madrid and Acebes, Rajoy did not believe there was anything special to do: “Among the 46 million Spaniards there are only a few corrupt.” On October 27, after the Operation Pubic, he asked for forgiveness on behalf of the pp to all Spaniards and Spanish.

Whatever it may be, the Catalan consultation comes on those currents, and Catalonia is well spared, especially with the issue of the Pujol, but also with the imputation of Joaquim Nadal of the PSC or the attempts to get dirty with the Swiss current accounts of the mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias and Josep-Lluis Carod Rovira.

This week the Constitutional Court will look at the Spanish Government’s request for a challenge and could give a response at the meeting on 5 November. Rajoy’s request is based on the following points: That the act that the Generalitat has presented as a process of citizen participation is a fraud of law and, therefore, it must be prohibited, because it also has the same objective as the first consultation convened by decree, but it has been carried out differently. The Spanish State Council has also asked the Constitutional Court to suspend the consultation. But it says that there is no decree or rule of challenge, but that does not seem to be enough for the Constitutional Court not to prohibit it.

And then the elections.

The new consultation of Mas initially provoked disturbances between the sovereign parties, thus breaking the image of unity that had been given up until then. However, Mas has managed to restructure the sovereign force around the A9. The Cup has been agreeing from the beginning, at first timidly, but ERC immediately agreed and ICV has been undecided and fragmented for almost two weeks, but will finally participate in the consultation.

Whether banned or not by the Constitutional Court, the ANC has called on citizens to vote 9N at 9:00. It will mobilize 100,000 volunteers through the “Ara es la hora” campaign by organising a call marathon and calling on the public to participate. The central event of the campaign will take place on November 7 at Avenida María Cristina de Barcelona.

One way or another, another giant mobilization of independence will be known next Sunday. And the world will see it. In addition to boosting internal cohesion, the primary objective of the sovereigns is for the world to see clear what is happening in Catalonia. Two million people could participate in the consultation, according to a study carried out by the agency Gabinet d'Estudis Socials i Opinó Pública (GESOP). It seems too much, but only approaching that figure would be a great victory for the sovereigns. On the contrary, according to last week’s El País (metroscopy) survey, the consultation divides Catalan society into two, for 49% of the population the initiative is inadequate and for 44% yes. In addition to voting, citizens who wish to do so will be able to sign a manifesto in defence of the right to decide for the international community. Signatures will then be sent to the UN and the EU. On Sunday, therefore, you will have to tell what you count and what you count.

But Sunday will be a giant slide for the early elections that will be held mainly in January or February, and until then too many things will still be in the air. The first is on Sunday, as the level of participation and possible tension may influence the next important step. In other words, how are the sovereigns going to present the issue of independence as an electoral plebiscite? Will CDC and CKD be presented together or distributed? It is clear that coincidence would benefit the CDC, and there are those who think it would be the best way to collect the sovereign vote. In ERC, on the contrary, there is a strong view that each is presented separately, in the hope of obtaining more votes.

When is independence proclaimed?

It gives the impression that Podemos is thinking very seriously about the possibility of participating in the early elections in Catalonia. There are polls that give him 12 seats or that say he would be the second political force after ERC. That would prevent the independentists from having an absolute majority. The opposite view also believes that Podemos, like the PSC, will unleash independence in its hands and that in Catalonia it will fragment. With the attitude shown so far, Podemos advocates the right to decide of Catalonia and advocates that it be resolved in a consultation.

So, if you win the candidatures for independence, will independence be proclaimed in Parliament, as ERC would like? It doesn't seem. At least that is the view of the Catalan National Transition Council (CNT). This has been communicated to Argia by the vice-president of this Council, Nuria Bosch i Roca: “It is impossible to proclaim independence the day after the elections.” That would be communicated to the main international institutions the creation of a state by Catalonia and the new Parliament will take care of it. If Spain wanted to negotiate this process well, but if not, Catalonia would continue to make its way and in a few months it would proclaim independence.