ERC, a party of relevant Catalan politicians including Francesc Macià, Lluís Companys and Josep Tarradellas, played an important role in Catalan and Spanish politics during the Second Republic, the Civil War, the anti-Francoist resistance and the transition to democracy. Recovering a key position during the 2000s, it became a coalition partner in various Catalan governments, obtaining in 2021 the presidency of Catalonia for the first time since 1980 after the appointment of Pere Aragonès as President of the Generalitat. In 2022, it had 9,047 members.[28]
^Guibernau, Montserrat (2004), Catalan Nationalism: Francoism, transition and democracy, Routledge, p. 82
^ abHargreaves, John (2000), Freedom for Catalonia?: Catalan Nationalism, Spanish Identity and the Barcelona Olympic Games, Cambridge University Press, p. 84
^ abThe ERC is widely described as pro-independence:
Buffery, Helena; Marcer, Elisenda (2011), Historical Dictionary of the Catalans, Scarecrow Press, p. 198
Paluzie, Elisenda (2010), "The costs and benefits of staying together: the Catalan case in Spain", The Political Economy of Inter-Regional Fiscal Flows: Measurement, Determinants and Effects on Country Stability, Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 367
Hooghe, Liesbet; Marks, Gary; Schakel, Arjan H. (2010), The Rise of Regional Authority: A Comparative Study of 42 Democracies, Routledge, p. 194
Schrijver, Frans (2006), Regionalism After Regionalisation: Spain, France and the United Kingdom, Vossiuspers, Amsterdam University Press, p. 112
McLaren, Lauren M. (2008), Constructing Democracy in Southern Europe: A Comparative Analysis of Italy, Spain, and Turkey, Routledge, p. 184
Roller, Elisa (2004), "Conflict and Cooperation in EU Policy-Making: The Case of Catalonia", The EU and Territorial Politics Within Member States: Conflict Or Co-Operation?, Brill, p. 80
^Alonso, Sonia (2012), Challenging the State: Devolution and the Battle for Partisan Credibility, Oxford University Press, p. 77
^Ramiro, Luis; Morales, Laura (2007), "European integration and Spanish parties: Elite empowerment amidst limited adaptation", The Europeanization of National Political Parties: Power and organizational adaptation, Routledge, p. 146
^Moreno, Luis; Colino, César (2010), "Kingdom of Spain", Diversity and Unity in Federal Countries, McGill-Queen's University Press, p. 299
^Guibernau, Montserrat (2004), Catalan Nationalism: Francoism, transition and democracy, Routledge, p. 82
^Nordsieck, Wolfram (2021). "Catalonia/Spain". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
^Canal 2018, p. 85 "Convivían en su seno desde tendencias obreristas hasta el filofascismo declarado de Josep Dencàs, conformando una opción catch-all tan atractiva como difícil de mantener al margen de riñas y escisiones internas"
^"Catalan separatists projected to win majority in regional polls". Al Jazeera. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2022. The opinion poll showed that the two main rival separatist parties – the left-wing Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC) and the centre-right Together for Catalonia (Junts per Catalunya) would get 36-38 and 30-33 seats, respectively, in the 135-seat assembly.
^Stone, Jon (20 September 2017). "Spanish police storm Catalan government buildings to stop independence referendum". The Independent. Retrieved 3 September 2022. Catalonia's provincial government is a broad church of separatist parties from the left and right, ranging from the left-wing Republican Left of Catalonia to the centre-right Democratic Convergence of Catalonia.
^Parker, Jonathan (2022). "Europe's Secessionist Movements and Covid-19". Nationalities Papers. 50. Cambridge University Press: 118–129. doi:10.1017/nps.2020.103. S2CID233589244. Retrieved 3 September 2022. The other party in the Catalan government, the left-wing Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), indulged in Torra's strongest lines of attack to a certain extent, but their attitude throughout has been rather more conciliatory.