Àlex Tort, Barcelona
09/10/2019 01:01 Updated on 09/10/2019 09:27
It is another step, although for now it will be a pilot test in the region of Osona: the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) has begun to go ahead with the extension of its campaign in favor of consumption of services of companies that foster the Catalan economy, “who are outside of the Spanish political interference” and “disconnected from the companies of the Ibex35 and the political powers of the Spanish State”. As La Vanguardia has learned, the territorial organizations of the entity in the Osona region have made a motion that will be sent to the pro-independence political parties of the rough fifty municipalities in the area to take it to the plenary sessions, put to a vote, so that the town councils hire the services of companies committed to a Catalan republic.
Until today, the campaign had been aimed especially at private consumers. Now the ANC wants to also address Catalan institutions, starting with the municipalities. Specifically, the text of the motion, entitled “For a national strategic consumption”, urges “to approve the adhesion” of each of the municipalities concerned “to the strategic consumption initiative promoted by the ANC, registering it in its registry of strategic consumers and committing it to study the contracting of supplies and services offered by companies registered in the strategic supplier registry”.
The initiative begins this September in the region of Osona, to be projected later throughout Catalonia
‘Strategic consumption’ is a campaign of the ANC which caused a strong controversy especially when a web search engine was created to facilitate to potential private consumers the contact with suppliers of all types: electricity, gas, telephony, fuels, financial institutions, insurance companies, etc. The initiative received many criticisms, among them those of Foment del Treball and Pimec, who describe it directly as a “boycott” and consider it a “kick to the foot” and “irrational”. The two organizations, in addition to political parties such as Citizens, the PSC and the PP also accused the ANC of creating “blacklists”.
This new phase of the campaign, which has the approval of the national secretariat of the ANC, begins with a clear medium-term objective in the motion: that the Generalitat also ends up adhering to it.
In addition, the document urges municipalities to “promote awareness of the strategic consumption initiative by citizens and carry out activities aimed at achieving their objectives, such as collective purchases of goods and services offered by registered companies in the registry of strategic suppliers”.
The ANC has already started to work on it and the intention is that in late September the entity and municipalities know which municipalities will be putting the motion to vote. The ANC hopes that it will be a success so that thereafter it will extend the campaign to the rest of the municipalities of the Catalan territory and to the high institutions. In fact, the vast majority of the fifty municipalities of Osona, including the capital Vic, have a pro-independence majority.
In the statement of reasons, the motion states that “the defense of the rights and interests of the citizens of Catalonia is incompatible with hiring companies whose career shows that, if at any time they deem it appropriate, will not hesitate to return to work, finance and maneuver to spoil the Catalan economy and to coerce citizens”.
Likewise, it is affirmed that “the Catalan institutions (…) have to prioritize the hiring of these companies that create wealth, strengthen the Catalan economy and give stability, especially in times of crisis”. The number of companies or businesses adhering today to the “Consum estratègic” campaign has grown remarkably since the introduction of the web search engine, in mid-June of this year. In addition, sources of the ANC affirm that beyond the companies that can be consulted, “the complex registration process, with all the data that is required” causes the incorporation of new companies to be delayed, “so there are many more than those that can be found” currently on the web.
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