Republican Left of Catalonia

Infobox_Catalan_Political_Party
party_name = Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
colorcode = orange
party_
president = Joan Puigcercós i Boixassa
general_secretary = Joan Ridao i Martín
foundation = March 19, 1931
ideology = Social democracy,
Democratic socialism,
Catalan independentism,
republicanism, Left-wing nationalism
headquarters = C/Calàbria, 166
08015 Barcelona
colours = Orange
members =
european parliament group = European Free Alliance
international = "None"
website = [http://www.esquerra.cat/ www.esquerra.cat]
The Republican Left of Catalonia ( _ca. Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, "ERC") is a left-wing Catalan independentist political party in Spain campaigning for the independence of Catalonia from this country. It is also the main sponsor of the independence movement from France and Spain in the territories known among Catalan nationalists as "Països Catalans".

Its current president is Joan Puigcercós i Boixassa and its secretary-general is Joan Ridao i Martín.

Political principles and representation

Its basic political principles are defined in the Statement of Ideology approved at the 19th National Congress in 1993. This is organised into the three areas that give the organisation its name: Esquerra (commitment to the Left's agenda in the political debate), República (commitment to the Republican form of government vs. Spain's current constitutional monarchy) and Catalunya (Catalan independentism, which, as understood by ERC, comprises the so-called "Catalan Countries").

Despite having been one of the main forces behind the movement for amendment, the party eventually opposed the 2006 changes to the Catalan Statute of Autonomy to increase Catalonia's autonomy. It did so on the grounds that it did not do enough to increase Catalan independence. This caused a government crisis with its partners (specially with the PSC) which led to an early election in 2006.

"Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya" has currently 21 seats (3rd group by seats) in the Catalan regional Parliament, where it is one of the three coalition members of the current leftwing tripartite Catalan Government. It was briefly expelled from this coalition in May 2006 because of the many tensions the PSC-PSOE (Socialists' Party of Catalonia) and ERC had accumulated during their coalition government, being the turning point ERC's opposition in the last instance to the project of a new Statute of Autonomy in which redaction ERC has had partial lead.

It has 3 seats (5th group by seats) in the Spanish Parliament and 1 seat in the European Parliament.

History

Led by Francesc Macià in 1931, the party declared an independent Catalan Republic that was curtailed by the new Constitution of the Second Spanish Republic.

In 1934, led by Lluís Companys, the elected Catalan President, the party declared an independent Catalan Republic within the "Spanish Federation" proposed by Companys, following the entry of Right Wing ministers into the Government of the Spanish Republic, however the party leaders (including Companys) and all the Catalan Government (called Generalitat) were arrested and jailed for this, and special autonomy laws for Catalonia were suspended until 1936 .

In 1936, at the dawn of the Spanish Civil War, ERC decided to become part of the Spanish Popular Front to contest that year's election, which it won. Esquerra became the leading force of the "Popular Front" in Catalonia and tried to maintain the unity of the Front in the face of growing tensions between the POUM and Communists.

The party was declared illegal (along with all other participants in the "Popular Front") by Francisco Franco after he came to power in 1939 . The former president of the Catalan Generalitat, Lluís Companys, was arrested by German agents in collaboration with Vichy France, returned to Spain and executed in 1940.

The party is also federated with parties in the Balearic Islands and in Northern Catalonia in France, as well as with Republican Left of the Valencian Country in the Valencian Community. Except for their Balearic counterpart, none of the latter currently have any parliamentary representation in their respective territories, though they do hold some municipal councilors.

Presidents of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya

#Francesc Macià i Llussà (1931-1933)
#Lluís Companys i Jover (1933-1935)
#Carles Pi i Sunyer (1933-1935)
#Lluís Companys i Jover (1936-1940)
#Heribert Barrera (1993-1995)
#Jaume Campabadal (1995-1996)
#Jordi Carbonell i de Ballester (1996-2004)
#Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira (2004-2008)
#Joan Puigcercós i Boixassa (2008-present)

General Secretaries of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya

#Joan Lluís Pujol i Font (March of 1931 - April of 1931)
#Josep Tarradellas i Joan (April of 1931 - March of 1932)
#Joan Tauler (March of 1932 - 1938)
#Josep Tarradellas i Joan (1938 - 1957)
#Joan Sauret (1957 - 1976)
#Heribert Barrera (1976-1987)
#Joan Hortalà (1987-1989)
#Àngel Colom Colom (1989-1996)
#Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira (1996-2004)
#Joan Puigcercós i Boixassa (2004-2008)
#Joan Ridao i Martín (2008-present)

References

ee also

*Catalan Parliament election, 2006
*List of political parties in Catalonia
*Young Republican Left of Catalonia
*Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia

External links

* [http://www.esquerra.cat/ Site of the party] ca icon
* [http://www.esquerra.cat/web_nova/arxius/DIangles.pdf Ideological declaration] en icon (PDF)
* [http://www.esquerra.cat/web_nova/arxius/Hangles.pdf ERC’s brief history] en icon (PDF)
* [http://www.jerc.cat/ Joventuts de l'Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya] Youth section's site ca icon
* [http://www.carod.cat/ Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira] ca icon