Catalonia to vote on independence from Spain despite arrests, fines, police threat
The people of Catalonia, an autonomous four-province region bordering France, will head to the polls Sunday to vote in a referendum on independence from Spain. On each ballot will be just one question: "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?" Catalonia's regional parliament in Barcelona has declared Sunday's vote binding, but the central Spanish government in Madrid deems the entire referendum illegal.
The vote is scheduled to proceed despite fierce opposition from Madrid, including seizure of millions of ballot papers, arrests of Catalan election officials, censorship of referendum websites, and heavy daily fines for election board members as long as the vote moves forward. A cruise ship and other boats together housing some 16,000 Spanish national police officers brought from other regions are docked in Barcelona's harbor in an attempt to stop the vote. It is unclear how Catalan police will behave.
Catalan independence is the subject of three centuries of contention dating to the 1714 conquest of Barcelona by King Philip V of Spain. Catalans have a distinct language and culture from the rest of Spain, and their independence efforts were subject to particularly brutal repression during the mid-century regime of military dictator Francisco Franco. In 2006, Catalonia was granted the designation of "nation," but four years later, Spain's highest court reversed that rule, deeming that Catalans have a special "nationality" but not their own "nation." The Spanish constitution says Spain is "indivisible."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Polling data is limited but suggests a majority of Catalans support independence. In part because of the threat of police action, turnout on Sunday is expected to heavily favor the pro-independence side. The European Union has declined to intervene despite concerns about police tactics.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughter
speed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Shooting at Chiefs victory rally kills 1, injures 21
Speed Read Gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade in Missouri
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Unexpected' bodies found in search for suspected Clapham attacker Abdul Ezedi
Speed Read Suspect was last seen 'leaning over railings' on Chelsea Bridge
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Man 'armed with crossbow' shot dead by police in London
Speed Read London incident has reignited concern about lack of restrictions on the weapon
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Court rules Josef Fritzl can be moved to normal prison
Speed Read 'Notorious' criminal, now 88, was convicted for raping, committing incest and imprisoning his daughter
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Post Office scandal casts new light on Robin Garbutt murder conviction
Speed Read Supporters claim faulty Horizon evidence was key to guilty verdict but victim's mother accuses former postmaster of jumping on bandwagon
By The Week UK Published
-
Uvalde parents want indictments after DOJ's scathing school shooting report
Speed Read The Justice Department's damning review of the May 2022 school shooting in Texas details 'cascading failures,' but families of the victims want justice
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Girls left 'at the mercy' of Rochdale sex abuse gangs, says 'damning' review
Speed Read Victims 'badly failed' by council and police, said Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published