“Independencia es dignidad” – independence is dignity – adorns flags hanging from apartment balconies in clusters throughout Barcelona. Ironically written in Spanish, rather than Catalan, this appeal to Catalonians to vote Yes in October’s independence referendum sits side by side with others saying “Si!” – “Yes!” – as well as the Senyera Estelada flag, the battle standard of Catalan separatists.
Last week, the Catalan government raised tensions by saying it could declare independence within “two days” if it wins the referendum, scheduled for 1 October. Carles Puigdemont, the president of the Generalitat, Catalonia’s government, promised the assembly on July 4 that the referendum “would not be a train crash” and that no action of the Spanish state would stop the will of the Catalan people.
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