Catalonia has a new political disruptor: Aliança Catalana, a right-wing, anti-immigration party that has surged from obscurity to become one of the most consequential forces in the region. A party that only recently entered parliament with two seats is now projected, according to the Catalan government’s Centre for Opinion Studies (CEO), to win 19 to 20 seats—putting it level with one of the region’s traditional pro-independence heavyweights.
For years, Catalan politics has revolved around a familiar trio. The PSC is the centre-left party aligned with Spain’s central government. ERC is a left-leaning separatist party. And Junts is a liberal-nationalist separatist party once led by Carles Puigdemont, the chief political figure of the 2017 independence crisis. It is Junts—formerly the standard-bearer of Catalonia’s independence cause—that is now suffering a dramatic collapse, falling from 35 seats to roughly the same level as Aliança. ERC would stay slightly ahead on 22 to 23, while the PSC would still win the election but shows clear signs of voter weariness.
At the heart of Aliança’s rise is its leader, Sílvia Orriols. Born in Vic in 1984 and trained in library science and documentation, she cut her teeth in small nationalist movements before entering local politics in Ripoll. Her ascent began after she founded Aliança, won the Ripoll mayoralty in 2023, and turned herself into one of the most talked-about figures in Catalonia. She describes herself as “anti-Islamist” and fiercely opposed to what she calls “Spanish occupation.”
Ripoll, her hometown and power base, gives her message an added charge. It was in Ripoll that the jihadist cell behind the 2017 Barcelona and Cambrils attacks was formed. Orriols has capitalised on lingering unease over immigration and crime, and the CEO’s polling shows just how strongly her supporters feel about the issue. An overwhelming majority believe the Spanish government has lost control over who enters the country; most say immigration levels are too high; and many think Catalan traditions are disappearing.
But what makes Aliança even more disruptive is the breadth of its appeal. Despite its strong pro-independence rhetoric, 32% of its voters do not support independence at all and say they feel comfortable within Spain. It is also attracting voters from VOX, Spain’s national-level anti-immigration party, which is now losing ground among younger right-leaning Catalans.
Pollsters describe Aliança’s growth as “geometric,” doubling with each new survey. It is drawing in separatists disillusioned with their leaders, unionists frustrated with Madrid, and culturally conservative voters anxious about immigration and identity.
Catalonia is no stranger to political shocks. But the rise of Aliança Catalana—born in a mountain town and now threatening to reorder the region’s politics from top to bottom—may prove its most destabilising upheaval for several years.
