Catalans in fresh surge for independence from Spain
As in previous years, the region’s powerful independence movement will mark Catalan national day on September 11 with a mass rally calling for the creation of an independent state. This time around organisers hope hundreds of thousands of supporters will fill one of the main avenues into Barcelona all the way to the doors of the regional parliament in Ciutadella Park.
The flag-waving crowds will look similar to those that crammed the city’s streets last year, and that formed a 480km human chain across the region in 2013. However, the political backdrop this year is different. Just two weeks after the rally, Catalans go to the polls to elect a new regional government.
Crucially, and for the first time, the main pro-independence parties have agreed to run in the election on a single unified list. The idea is to turn the vote into a referendum on independence and to secure a popular mandate for a break with Spain.
