In less than a month, the Catalans will democratically decide the kind of political and economic relations they want with Spain in the future. It appears that the Government of Spain is using all possible means to ensure that the wishes of the Catalans are not successful. For democracy to have no value in Catalonia, the Spaniards are using politicians, the judiciary, most media and intellectuals.

The main argument that Spaniards have is the law and they identify it with democracy: the law is democracy, the breach of the law is the opposition to democracy. Weak argument. Because in any dictatorship there are laws, such as those we had with Franco, but far from being democratic; the law has to be to regulate any relationship, and if those relations do not adapt well within the current legal framework, there is nothing left to change the law. That is what happens to Catalonia with the current Spanish legislation and the Spanish presidents are using it as the main argument, cheating.

On the other hand, it must be stressed that the Catalans are being very careful to make the whole process transparent and democratic, without any threat whatsoever. This action has made the lives of the Spaniards even more difficult. We have to remember what the old minister Manuel Fraga said: Catalonia will be a problem for Spain and the problem of the Basques will be solved with money. He was right, we are already seeing the sad performance of the PNV and the Basque Government in relation to Catalonia.

The Catalans, as usual, want to live better and get out of there a lot of independentists, because the Spanish elite makes it impossible for them to reach their standard of living. The responsibility for this impossibility lies with Madrid, which has become the “black hole” that devours money, becoming a structural problem the thirst for dissatisfied public money: Bankia (23 billion), unnecessary radio highways (3.5 billion), massive investments to improve Barajas and, on the contrary, those at Prat airport are rejected. We must also not forget that the roads in the Madrid area are free of charge and those which are paid in the meantime in Catalonia. And so we would continue to cite the cases, which have increased the indignation between the Catalans and the Catalans.

If any country wants to develop welfare and opportunities in society, the education system is of vital importance and scholarships must be mentioned in that task. According to data from this area, more than half of the scholarships from all over the state are divided in Madrid and only one tenth in Catalonia.

In general terms, some estimates indicate that the centralist State took Catalonia 15-16 billion euros in 2006 and 2007, while others estimate that this fiscal deficit is 5.75% of Catalonia's annual GDP. They are therefore very powerful figures for any country that wants to make progress in economic development.

All this information indicates to us transparently that, if it were independent, it would have more money to make public investments to improve public services in Catalonia. However, this regrettable situation makes it clear that many Catalans are committed to independence, as they cannot aspire to a more dignified standard of living within Spain.

Finally, the independence of Catalonia, no doubt seeing the negative economic impact it will have on the Spanish State, will lead to the loss of an important source of income, so I also believe that our Economic Convention would be at risk. Then we will see how bilateral the Basque tax system or the Economic Convention is.

The best luck to Catalonia!