Catalonia is not Spain, is it?

Posted on by Larissa Urbiks

Catalonia is one of the 17 autonomous communities in Spain, the capital city of the region is Barcelona. On 1 October 2017, the Catalan government held a referendum to find out if the majority of the citizens want Catalonia to become independent from Spain. The Spanish government tried to prevent this and called the referendum illegal. The outcome was a lot of police violence against independence supporters during the election day and a constitutional crisis. A few weeks later the Catalan government proclaimed the independence. The Spanish government responded with the disempowerment and arrest of Catalan officials.

The citizens of Catalonia, Spain and the rest of the world have opposing views related to the independence. The sentence “Catalonia is not Spain” is often used by pro-independence supporters and refers to Catalonia’s own history, language and the fact, that they don’t have the same traditions as the rest of the country. Bullfights, for example, are forbidden in Catalonia.

Also, people from other European countries took sides.

And the pro-independence supporters still stand up for their dream, even after the disempowerment of the officials.

But not all Catalans support the independence.

And people from other countries remind them of possible consequences.

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