Draft:Uriel Bertran

Uriel Bertran i Arrué (born Jully 11,1976) is an Economist and Spanish Politician. From 2007 to 2010 he led the internal Esquerra Independentista movement within the ERC, which proposed a change to the party's strategy, more consistent with its Pro-Independence, Republican, and Left-wing ideology.

He is currently apart Catalan Solidarity for Independence (SCI) party, which he is a co-founder of alongside Joan Laporta and Alfons López Tena. In the 2010 Catalan parliament election he was elected Deputy for the constituency of Barcelona.

Biography
He graduated with a degree in Economics from Pompeu Fabra University, in 1993 he joined the Republican Youth of Catalonia (JERC) and in 1994 the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC). In 1997 he was elected National Spokesperson of the JERC, a position he held until 2003; as the top youth leader, Bertran was present in the national leadership of the ERC party. He also collaborated with theInsubordinate movement of Spain.

In the 2003 Catalan Elections he was elected a Deputy in the Parliament of Catalonia for the ERC, after which the Catalan Tripartite was formed. In July 2004, the party's National Congress elected him as National Secretary of Image and Communication. With this new responsibility, he  designed a campaign advocating for the "no" vote on the referendum for the  Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006. He ran again in the 2006 Catalan election and was again elected Deputy.

But, the loss of votes in these and in the subsequent 2007 Spanish local elections in addition to the lack of political ambition of the "Second Tripartite" pushed him to lead an internal movement within the ERC. The movements manifesto was made public June 5, 2007: it demanded the beginning of the process to call a national referendum on the Independence of Catalonia and the convening of the party's National Congress to debate the project. Joan Puigcercós forced him to resign from the leadership of the ERC immediately.

Subsequently, Uriel Bertran led a line of thought within the ERC called Esquerra Independentista, together with Elisenda Paluzie, Héctor López Bofill y Pilar Dellunde. Its objective was to revitalize the ERC after repeated electoral declines. In July of 2010 he created, along with Joan Laporta and Alfons López Tena, the political party Catalan Solidarity for Independence, which ran candidates in the 2010 Catalan election. This included Bertran who was elected Deputy for Barcelona once again. At that time, he ceased being a ERC member.

Apart from his work as a member of the Parliament of Catalonia, he is currently an associate professor in the Economics and Business department at the University of Barcelona and has taught courses at Catalan Summer University. He often writes for various Catalan publications, such as Avui, El Punt, El Periódico de Catalunya y El Temps.