I have long worried about therise of authoritarianismin the European Union.The Spanish governmentsviolent crackdownduring the Catalonia referendum on Oct. 1 is the latest crisis to challenge EU institutions. Several member states are facing serious questions aboutterritorial sovereignty. Just look to the Scottish referendum to leave the U.K. and questions opened up by the Brexit vote over the Irish border.Catalonia experienced a level of police brutality not often seen in developed democracies.More than 800 peoplewere injured, more than 100 of whom were hospitalized. Yet, in a rare televised appearance, King Felipe VI expressedfull supportfor the Spanish governments actions.As ascholarof Spanish politics, I fear this creates the possibility for more repression and even the abolition of Catalonias autonomy.Why has the Spanish government reacted with such a severe crackdown' To answer that question, it might useful to go back more than 40 years.Francos legacyWhen Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died in 1975, pro-democracy forces feared a new military coup. So they carefully crafted Spains1978 Constitutionto ensure stability, rather than create a radical change from authoritarianism.The transition to democracy involved increasing political freedom for groups that had opposed Franco and had been persecuted by his dictatorship. But it also incorporated existing authoritarian groups and officials into the state. They included the Francoist military, the church and state structures that existed during the dictatorshipsuch as the judiciary, the police and the civil service.The Constitution, and subsequent agreements in 1981 and 1992, organized Spain into 17 autonomous communities. Each has its own executive, legislative and judicial powers. World leaders heralded Spain as an ideal model for peacefullytransitioning to democracy. However, its focus on inclusivity, rather than change, meant future demands for self-determination would be shut down.Article 155of the Constitution states that if an autonomous community operates against the general interest of the state they can be suspended by the Senate.Spains constitutional orderCatalonia, through years of negotiation, has maintained a relatively high level of autonomy from Spain. TheCatalan governmenthas authority over health care provision, education, local police and many other areas.However, since 2010, the Spanish judicial body known as the Constitutional Tribunal has refuted many pieces of legislation approved by the Catalan Parliament. This stands in contrast to the U.S., where the Supreme Court deliberates on constitutional matters. In Spain, the Constitutional Tribunal has overturned political decisions made by the Catalan Parliament, such as the housing emergency and fuel poverty bills and a Catalan statute in 2006. This has strengthened Catalonias desire for true independence from Spain.Often, the Constitutional Tribunal has also acted in accordance with the Spanish Executive Cabinet, leading many toquestionthe separation of powers between the two. Ten members of the 12-person Constitutional Tribunal are political appointees. The other two are appointed by the General Council of Judicial Powerthe body in charge of overseeing the judiciary in Spain. The council is also primarily appointed politically. Meanwhile, the Spanish Executive Cabinethas refused, since 2011, to negotiate with their Catalan counterparts on issues to do with more autonomy.In fact, since 2011, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his governmenthave ruled primarily by decrees, which do not require input from the legislative branch. For example, the first Rajoy government (20112015) approved 33.8 percent of its legislation by decrees. Compare this to a figure of 20 percent the previous time the same party was in power (2000-2004).Further evidence of the authoritarian turn of the Spanish government is the approval of repressive laws such as one known popularly as theGag Law(Ley Mordaza in Spanish) in 2015. The law criminalizes many forms of protest and imposes high fines. The government claimed it would protect public order. This law, and the use of excessive force by police in Spain, has been repeatedly denounced by international organizations such asAmnesty International.Vanguard of protestsThe rift between Catalonia and the state is also rooted in the 2008 world financial crisis, which hit Catalonia and Spainparticularly hard. People suffered fromhousing foreclosures,mass unemployment(consistently over 20 percent since 2011) and deep cuts to public spending. Since 2011, the economic crisis has become a political crisis. Corruption scandals involving the governing party and even the monarchy have caused deep indignation among the population.The response has often been stronger in Catalonia, where many of anti-austerity movements have originated. They has involved mass demonstrations, occupations of squares and the development ofmass social movement groupssuch as thePlatform of People Affected by Mortgages.Catalans have been protesting regularly. Demonstrations of more than 1 million people have become the norm.On Nov. 9, 2014, Catalonia held a public consultation that the Constitutional Tribunal ruled illegal. The poll was meant to be a test-case referendum and attracted more than 2.5 million voters in what can be considered Europes largest organized civil disobedience protest.For many Catalans, the Oct. 1 vote had to be different from thepreviousone, as they felt it was time to find another way forward given Spains refusal to negotiate. The ensuingviolence and chaos, which were sparsely reported bySpains public TV channels, show a government unwilling to deal with dissent and prepared to violate the democratic institutions of a region and its people. Although the constitution does not grant the right to secede, constitutional change is not unheard of in modern democracies, includingSpain.TheEUs reluctance to get involvedhas left a vacuum in leadership. The EU has acted in response to other member states resorting to authoritarianism in the EU, such asHungary. We can now wonder, does the EUs response to authoritarianism depend on whether the member state is in the west or in the east'Monica Clua Losada, Associate Professor in Global Political Economy,University of Texas Rio Grande ValleySEE ALSO:Risks are building up everywhere you lookJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Trump once won a lawsuit against the NFL ' but the result was an embarrassment
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