Catalonia To Hold Independence Referendum In November

The president of the Spanish region of Catalonia, Artur Mas, signed a decree calling for a referendum on independence to be held on November 9.

The central Spanish government, however, is resisting the idea and Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy said he will block any referendum.

Earlier in September the government of the autonomous region of Catalonia – one of Spain's richest and most industrialised regions – voted by a margin of 106 to 28 in favour of holding a referendum on independence from Spain.

According to the central government, however, any vote on the matter would be illegal and the matter would most likely be taken to Spain's constitutional court.

Artur Mas, however, said he can use local laws to hold a vote in a matter of weeks.

"If they think in Madrid that by using legal frameworks they can stop the will of the Catalan people, they are wrong," he said in the wake of the Scottish "No" vote, quoted by BBC.

Until recently, few Catalans had wanted full independence, but Spain's painful economic crisis has seen a surge in support for separation and a growing resentment over the proportion of Catalan taxes used to support poorer Spanish regions.

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