Barcelona Protests - 21/09/2017

Varoufakis on the Catalonia Referendum: “I’m not taking sides”

Regarding the referendum on the independence of Catalonia and following the strategy of identifying everyone with one side or another, a recent interview with Yanis Varoufakis in a Spanish digital media outlet has caused the co-founder of DiEM25 to return to the public sphere and clarify out-of-context headlines.
“I am not taking sides on whether Catalonia should be independent or not” and “What we’re promoting in DiEM25 would solve the problem. We want a real European Union that becomes a single jurisdiction, a country if you want to call it that.  In that scenario, it doesn’t matter if Catalonia is part of Spain!”
Either of these two phrases could have inspired the headline for the interview, but then the article would not have received the same media fuss. DiEM25 will always defend the two basic pillars of democracy: the principle of majority, expressed in elections and referendums; and the protection of civil liberties and individual rights.
Unlike Brexit, the referendum on the independence of Catalonia is not driven by xenophobic and anti-EU motives. It’s not the same thing. In this situation, we cannot oppose the idea of a referendum simply because the Constitution doesn’t allow it. In that case, we must work to change the constitution and make it not illegal, as stated in the 1945 UN Charter. Political problems must always be solved politically, by discussing and proposing solutions to all kinds of problems. Repression is never the solution.
At DiEM25 we’re working to create a European Union which is open, fair and shows solidarity, in which all kinds of ideas can be argued and defended.
Without getting carried away by the eye-catching headlines that the media use to attract attention and create controversy, we encourage all those interested in knowing Yanis Varoufakis’s position regarding the holding of the referendum in Catalonia and many other issues, to read the complete interview (in Spanish).
 

By Daniel Cruz, DSC-Barcelona

 

Volete essere informati delle azioni di DiEM25? Registratevi qui!

L’Italia ha bisogno di un’alternativa politica radicale

Negli ultimi anni la politica italiana è polarizzata tra estreme destre populiste e tecnocrazia. Il primo gruppo va dai finti-outsiders senza ...

Leggi di più

Un paese di musichette mentre fuori c’è la morte

Il periodo che stiamo vivendo non è certamente dei più tranquilli, per usare un eufemismo. Crisi finanziarie, seguite da due anni di pandemia ...

Leggi di più

La Grecia e l’UE hanno lasciato morire più di 27.000 persone nel Mar Egeo

Un'indagine rileva un numero impressionante di casi in cui la Guardia Costiera greca e FRONTEX hanno ordinato ai migranti di trovare da soli il ...

Leggi di più

Movimenti politici diversi e un programma comune: Cambiamo radicalmente il mondo del lavoro

Lo scorso 21 giugno 2022, DiEM25 ha ospitato un evento a Milano, Italia, intitolato Lavoro Se...: Le nostre proposte per cambiare radicalmente ...

Leggi di più