The Spanish region of Catalonia could briefly steal the referendum limelight from Scotland on Thursday during demonstrations in Barcelona aimed at sparking momentum for those opposed to Spanish rule.
About 55% of Catalans support independence from Spain, according to the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia, a government-supported group that seeks to raise awareness about the semiautonomous area of Spain that has Barcelona as its capital.
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| People take part in a demonstration in support of a Catalan vote on independence from Spain in the northern Spanish Basque city of Bilbao on Sept. 9. (Photo: AFP/Getty) |
The organizers of Catalan Way 2014, as Thursday's mass demonstration is called, expect more than 450,000 people to attend and hope to fill the streets and ballot boxes.
A similar event last year brought 1.5 million people together across Catalonia to campaign for independence. The date marks the anniversary of when Catalonia lost its independence by succumbing to a year-long Spanish military siege in 1714. On Sept. 11 of that year, Catalonia became a province of the Spanish crown, which it has been for 300 years.
Catalonia's 7.5 million residents have their own language and culture, and the region represents around one-fifth of Spain's $1.4 trillion economy. Unlike in Scotland, Catalans have not been granted a legally binding referendum on independence.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said on many occasions, most recently in July, that a vote "cannot and will not take place," and he is prepared to challenge the issue aggressively in Spain's constitutional courts.
He has cautioned — as Scotland's independence naysayers have — that a Catalonia untethered from Spain would have to renegotiate dozens, if not hundreds, of important international relationships, including with the European Union and NATO.Read the rest of the story HERE.
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