Spain is the Canary in the Coal Mine: Spain and Europe are Falling Apart
Why do many Catalans want to secede from Spain? History and Money. The Catalan region in northeastern Spain (including Barcelona) has about 7 million people. The are relatively industrialized and wealthy and pay higher than average taxes to subsidize rural Spain. Many focus on their cultural and linguistic differences and do not identify as being Spanish - and they want out of Spain and its debts.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpoA23fn71o&w=854&h=480]
Because I interpret prophecy and conclude that Europe will get MUCH weaker very soon, and leave themselves unprepared to resist an Islamic Invasion, I think this trend - the beginning of the collapse of European nation-states and the dominance of the European Union - I think this is VERY important.
Police/Military troops seemed somewhat violent, clashing with pro-independence Catalans, using batons, rubber bullets and other riot gear, dragging voters out of polling stations, seizing ballot boxes, and injuring upwards of 700.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kESpxWLk-8&w=854&h=480]
from an article at Zerohedge.com:
Caught On Tape: Spanish Civil Guard And Catalan Police Fight At Polling Station
"After reluctantly complying with orders to shut down polling places, it appears the local Catalonian police have had enough of the Spanish Civil Guard's brutality. To wit, videos have surfaced showing members of the local police - known as the Mossos - clashing with Civil Guard officers as they try to stop federal police from storming polling stations and attacking peaceful voters.
Public support for the Mossos has remained high despite the crackdown following the terror attack in late August, and video that emerged earlier showed crowds clapping for Mossos officers as they entered a polling station. One video published by the Spain Report shows Civil Guard riot officers physically pushing Mossos officers as they move to enter a polling station in the town. The Mossos officers resist and push back and an angry confrontation ensues for several seconds."
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abp2sL1-vy0&w=854&h=480]
Catalan Leader: "We Have Earned The Right To Form An Independent State"
"Though the results of today's referendum have yet to be announced, separatists in Catalonia are urging the government to declare independence from Spain, citing today's violent crackdown as the reason. In a rousing speech following the close of voting, Carles Puigdemont, the leader of the Catalan government, said his citizens have earned the right to form an independent state and that the results of the referendum, to be announced shortly, will be sent to the local parliament for ratification.
Though the central government in Spain declared the refendum illegal, and sent federal Civil Guard and National Police forces to try and suppress the vote in a dramatic crackdown that sent shockwaves around the globe, police only managed to shut down a small sliver of polling stations, allowing many in the region of more than 7 million people which has a larger economy than Portugal, to cast ballots."
Another Zerohedge article says: "We noted yesterday that "if Catalonia secedes from Spain...in terms of the debt sustainability parameters laid down by the Treaty of Maastricht, it’d be the Eurozone debt crisis 2.0..." and it is clear by the thuggish brutality of Spain's police that Rajoy will do anything to ensure this vote does not go ahead as the latest poll data shows a massive surge in favor of independence, as government fascism has clearly triggered unintended consequences that look set to spirtal out of control.