The drive for independence for Catalonia is moving forward after a secession vote found that of those that took part, 80.7 percent support independence. Spain called the vote illegal and useless, and Catalans that support independence call it a sign of success for Catalonia's nationalist government. More than two million of the state's seven and a half million people voted in the symbolic independence referendum. The head of the Catalan regional government Artur Mas called the vote, "a total success."
"The people of Catalonia have made it very clear that we want to govern ourselves. It is an old aspiration, which dates back centuries and remains perfectly alive," he added in Barcelona after polls closed.
Opposition of the drive for Catalan independence claim the results are false, skewed by those that support a break from Spain.
"The people of Catalonia have made it very clear that we want to govern ourselves. It is an old aspiration, which dates back centuries and remains perfectly alive," he added in Barcelona after polls closed.
Opposition of the drive for Catalan independence claim the results are false, skewed by those that support a break from Spain.
Mas said his government would now push to hold an official referendum and would seek international support to help persuade the Spanish government to allow it to go ahead.
"We deserve to vote in a legal and binding referendum and this is what we are going to try to do," he added.
While analysts dismiss the vote as inconclusive evidence that there is enough support for independence, supporters see the vote as beneficial to their ultimate showdown with Spain.
A legal game is emerging, because Spain had moved to block the vote, and the Catalan nationalist movement moved forward with the vote, anyway; breaching court injunctions by opening polling stations in schools and other public buildings.
The leader of the Catalan branch of Spain's ruling Popular Party, Alicia Sanchez Camacho, urged the authorities to take action against Mas over the referendum.
"Those who violate the law have to face the consequences," she told a news conference in Barcelona.
After dodging Scotland's bid for independence last September, British Prime Minister David Cameron said, regarding Catalonia's symbolic referendum, "London wants Spain to stay united." The Catalan region is economically sound, and represents nearly a fifth of Spain's economy, which could disrupt trade in Europe if Spain's already financially drowning, debt infested, economy lost the strongest and most prosperous part of their financial portfolio.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Catalonia's Defiance - Political Pistachio
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