Last Sunday, a quarter of a million Citizens of Barcelona voted in a mock referendum described as “a citizen’s initiative to organize a referendum in the city of Barcelona on Catalonia’s independence from Spain”.
The unofficial referendum showed 90% of those participating voted in favor of the independence of Catalonia, from the central Spanish government in Madrid.
Catalonia accounts for around 25% of Spain’s GDP, about one seventh of the Spanish population (47 million) and has long complained it contributes more than a fair share. Many Catalans, proud of their cultural identity and language, feel they get a raw deal from Madrid.
Despite the public’s opinion being pro-independence, the Catalonian Regional Parliament has rebuked a legislative proposal to take steps toward independence, starting by negotiations with the international community, followed by an official declaration of independence by an absolute majority.
