User:GrantDrum/Barcelona

Catalonia's Movement for Independence
The push for Catalonia's independence from Spain is currently the cause of a huge political divide in Barcelona, as well as the entirety of Catalonia at the moment. A part of the reason as to why many Catalans want to separate from Spain is that they see their culture and language as being very different from that of the rest of Spain's. Another reason is a shared feeling among Catalans that the central government of Spain takes more in taxes than it returns. People protesting for Catalonia to remain united with Spain showed their feelings towards the referendum by marching through the streets of Barcelona on October 8, 2017. After the regional parliament attempted to declare independence, roughly 45,000 people protested for Catalan independence in Brussels on December 7, 2017. Where, at the time, the ousted president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, remained in hiding from Spanish authorities who would want to arrest him. Carles Puigdemont fled the country after Spain issued an international arrest warrant for him after the illegal declaration of independence. Four others who were labeled ex-ministers by Spain under him also fled the country with him, though two were imprisoned back in Spain. Currently, submissions have been made to the UN trying to get some of those imprisoned people out under the case of unlawful imprisonment. Members from the movement for Catalan independence reached out and looked to the European Union for support too, though the European Union decided to back the Spanish government instead. However, despite fleeing the country, Carles Puigdemont still urged Catalans to continue peacefully protesting and opposing against Spain's takeover of Catalonia. This wasn't the first time that those supporting independence had made their voices heard, as two other large street protests had also occurred fairly recently in July 2010 as well as September 2012. The beginning of the movement however, started in the 1930's and was one of the reasons behind the Spanish Civil War.

The vote for Catalan independence referendum was held on October 1, 2017 by Catalan politicians even though Spain's constitutional government had already classified it as illegal. Catalans attempted to vote, but it had quickly turned violent as the Spanish government had declared the referendum disrupted and had police seize all ballot boxes, which resulted in around 750 people being injured during the process. Out of those who did manage to vote however, 90% had voted in favor of independence according to the Catalan government. Other Catalan officials were arrested too for their involvement, along with the seizure of any place at all related to the independence referendum.

Though the referendum was halted by Spain's government in October, a quick regional and legal election was subsequently held on December 21 2017. Parties that were pro-independence kept the majority in the regional parliament, something that the Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, wasn't hoping for. Catalan parliament had attempted to get Carles Puigdemont back into power as the president in January 2018, which is also the source of debate as the Prime Minister of Spain said that Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution wouldn't allow him to be sworn in overseas in Brussels. But that didn't stop Carles Puigdemont from attempting to regain the legitimate presidency in Catalonia, seeking ways to be legally reinstated even while abroad. Currently, plans are in the making for Carles Puigdemont to be symbolically inaugurated as the president and retain a more symbolic role before handing over the presidency to someone else at home in Catalonia.

FC Barcelona's Stance
FC Barcelona have even expressed their voice in the recent turmoil over Catalan independence, though they've always remained neutral beforehand. Issuing a statement in October 2017 on the matter, FC Barcelona said that they believe the Catalan people have a right to vote and that they will respect the will of the majority of the people of Catalonia.