Catalonia Votes To Ask Spain For Secession Ballot

A European season of separatist fervor kicked off Thursday with Catalan lawmakers voting in favor of asking for the right to hold a referendum on independence from Spain. The European Union was watching closely as Belgium's Dutch speakers gear up to push for greater autonomy in May elections, and Scotland prepares to hold its own referendum on breaking away from Britain in the fall.

The vote was a milestone in years of mass protests by Catalans, who are fiercely proud of their distinct culture and language, demanding the right to decide whether they want to secede. As lawmakers debated at the Catalan parliament in Barcelona on Thursday before the vote, about 150 Catalans outside waved independence flags. A smaller group unfurled Spanish flags before the debate began, yelling "Catalonia is Spain!"

But the vote was also largely symbolic.

Catalonia can ask Spain for permission to hold an independence vote but Madrid still has the power to say "no" — and it almost certainly will.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has repeatedly said he won't allow a Catalonia secession referendum because Spain's 1978 constitution doesn't envision anything but a unified Spanish state, and mandates that referendums affecting Spain must be held nationally and not regionally. He has an absolute majority in parliament that assures he will prevail, and the main opposition Socialist party also opposes a referendum vote.

The Thursday vote could fan the flames of an already impassioned independence drive, even though it fell just short of the two-thirds majority that supporters hoped for. A strong separatist message may also inspire independence movements elsewhere in the European Union at a time when European unity has been rocked by economic crisis.

In Spain, the momentum generated by this week's events now puts wealthy Catalonia "into a head-on collision with the Madrid government," predicted Hugh O'Donnell, professor of cultural politics at Glasgow Caledonian University.

"I think the political temperature in Spain is going to increase very significantly."

Even if Madrid refuses to allow an independence vote, Catalan politicians might decide to try to hold a referendum anyway. That would put them in perilous legal terrain: When the northern Basque region, where separatist sentiment has also raged, failed to obtain permission for a similar referendum in 2005, Spain said Basque leaders could face jail time if they went ahead and held the vote anyway.

A less extreme scenario would be to use Catalan regional elections as a kind of unofficial referendum, with parties obliged to clearly state where they stand on independence. Under such a situation, any vote for a pro-independence party would be taken as a de facto vote for independence. A big "yes" turnout would give further ammunition to independence supporters to push for a referendum, with or without Spain's approval.

Even though Catalans know the chance of getting Madrid to let them hold a referendum is virtually nil, they still headed to the streets in Barcelona last weekend, holding noisy protests while waving flags bearing red-and-yellow stripes, a blue triangle and white star symbolizing Catalonia's independence drive.

Gemma Mondon, a real estate agency administrator from Barcelona, became convinced as Spain's financial crisis deepened after the 2008 global economic meltdown that Catalonia should strive for independence. She was planning to buy a new independence flag to show her support for a referendum by hanging it from a window in her apartment, replacing the faded one she first put up two years ago.

"In Scotland they are doing the vote and the English government is saying 'yes.' I don't understand why they are so afraid for us to say out loud what we want," said Mondon. "We don't know what the answer is and I think people should have the right to decide.