Catalunya independence movement heating up

“Now is the time.” Catalonian flags in Girona, 2014

On September 18, 2014, the Scottish people will go to the polls to answer the question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”

They aren’t the only ones seeking to separate from their current government, though. On Sunday, November 9, 2014, the Catalonian people will also go to the polls and they will answer two questions:

1) “Do you want Catalonia to become a State?”

2) “In case of an affirmative response, do you want this State to be independent?”

In the case of the Scottish, there is actually an agreement between Scotland and the government of the United Kingdom to go ahead with the referendum. In the case of Catalonia, Madrid has made it clear that the referendum will not be allowed to happen.

So, these will be interesting days and months leading up to November 9.

It is hard to imagine Madrid sending troops into Catalonia to stop the poll, but I suppose it is possible. Interestingly, the independence movement in Catalonia has been carried ahead by the people, not the politicians. The politicians have had to follow the lead of the masses–a very pure democracy in action. Further, the movement is not made up of crazy radicals…they are, for the most part, just families and individuals tired of supporting the rest of the Spanish confederation–and their demonstrations have been so peaceful that they don’t seem to get the media coverage in the States that they probably deserve. (See THIS IMPRESSIVE  GIGAPAN PHOTO of last year’s “Catalan Way” project, a 300-mile chain of 1.6 million humans across Catalunya.)

If Madrid were to send in the troops, it would look very bad indeed.

On the other hand, this vote in November doesn’t mean that Catalonia automatically becomes independent. If “Yes”, it will just mean that the people give the go-ahead to their leaders to begin the process of becoming independent–building the necessary institutions, negotiating with Madrid, building contacts and a process with the European Union, etc.

Even with November looming large on the calendar, the process promises to be quite protracted. (And surely Basque Country and Galicia are watching these developments quite closely as many of their citizens, too, would like to travel a similar path.)

Catalans want to vote. Girona, Catalunya, 2014

9 de Novembre. Girona, Catalunya, 2014

Patches for Independence. Girona, Catalunya, 2014