Crowds throng Barcelona in support of referendum

Hundreds of thousands of Catalans filled the streets of Barcelona yesterday, forming a massive human “V” across the city, and calling on the Spanish government to allow their region to hold a November referendum on independence.

September 11th is the Diada, or Catalan national day, when the region remembers its defeat at the hands of Spanish troops in 1714 in the War of Succession. This year’s celebrations marked the 300th anniversary of that day but, more significantly, they were an opportunity for Catalan nationalists to remind the rest of Spain that they want independence.

“We’re all here because we feel Catalan and it’s an important day for us,” said Maria de Palol Martinez, one of 300 cellists who performed a stirring open-air concert in central Barcelona to mark the occasion. “We are here, we are Catalan and we want to show the world that we are Catalan. The Catalan people want to vote and we are going to vote.”

Determined to vote

At the historically symbolic time of 5.14pm, participants formed the seven-mile long “V”, representing both victory and the right to vote. Local police estimated that 1.8 million people took to the streets throughout the day, although the Spanish government was expected to give a much lower figure.

“I’m here to show the world, but also to show Spain and the Spanish government, that we’re determined to vote on November 9 and that we want to vote ‘yes’,” said Pol Castalla, an engineering student who took part in the day’s events.

Like many Catalans, he believes his region pays much more in taxes to the Spanish state than it receives back in investment. “Just go and look at the roads they have in Madrid, or the subway line they have in Madrid and then see the ones here – a huge amount of money is being invested in Madrid compared to here,” he said.

The region's financing is just one of the reasons why Catalan separatism has gained momentum. The perceived repression of Catalan culture and language by the central government is a further cause of tension; another was a constitutional court ruling in 2010 to strike down several new powers which had been devolved to Catalonia – a decision instigated by the Popular Party of prime minister Mariano Rajoy.

The November referendum would ask two questions: if Catalans want their region to become a state, and if so, if they want it to be independent. An April poll by the Catalan government showed that 47 per cent of Catalans would vote “yes” to both questions.

Legal framework

Although the ballot would not be legally binding, the central government opposes it on the grounds that it violates the constitution. Mr Rajoy has promised to appeal against the referendum once it is formally called by Catalan premier

Artur Mas

, possibly later this month.

“It’s a mistake to try to resolve a political problem through legal architecture,” Mr Mas said. “We are a nation and we want to decide on our future and we want to do it with the understanding of the peoples of Spain and Europe.”

Although Mr Mas insisted that he is set on staging the November vote as planned, there has been increasing speculation that he will postpone it if it lacks a legal framework, as appears likely. Nonetheless, the powerful pro-independence Catalan Republican Left party (ERC) says it must go ahead, despite the Spanish state’s resistance.

Mr Rajoy, who followed the day’s events from Madrid, said Catalonia would be worse off without Spain. “Unity is an asset,” he said. “No region can do better on its own than it would by moving forward in unison.”

Although the mood in the streets of Barcelona was predominantly pro-independence, anti-secession campaigners were also active in the region. In the city of Tarragona, members of the unionist organisation Catalan Civil Society (SCC) paraded a large Catalan flag through the streets in what they called an act of “reconciliation”.