On the 15th of October 2019, the Supreme Tribunal gave the sentence which has been for so long awaited: the one regarding the 12 Catalan ex-leaders, imprisoned since their attempt to give Catalonia its independence in October 2017.
The Catalan supporters of the independence were expecting, in the worst case, a 10-years-old-jail sentence. It turned out the Supreme Tribunal condemned Junqueras, the leader, to a 13 years-old prison punishment.
Since then, the streets in the centre of Barcelona have been the theatre of multiple clashes between Los Mossos d’Esquadra, in charge of the national security, and the manifestants.
These recent strikes have seen the birth of a new actor in the Catalan-Spanish battle landscape: Tsunami Democratic. This group, mainly composed of young people, created an Android App that allows small groups of protests-leaders to be monitored and to share directions, using QR codes.
One of their most visible actions was the occupation of the airport of Barcelona, which provoked the cancellation of more than 100 flights.
Even if the pro-separatist protests aimed at being pacifist, marginal violent movements have been repeatedly burning cars and constructing barricades to put them on fire. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested over the last two weeks.
Quim Torra, the President of the Generalitat de Cataluña (the Executive Power in Catalonia) was criticized for not condemning these violent acts.
As it happened two years ago, Catalonia seems to have reached an impasse: the Spanish government said that it would take all the measures needed to maintain the order, and the separatist movement is not willing to stop the strikes.
