While Americans were focused on the news of the Las Vegas shooting, Europeans were focused on the fate of Catalonia, an autonomous region in the northeast of Spain. On Sunday, October 1, 2017, Catalonia held an independence referdum that if successful, would allow the region to declare itself independent from Spain.

Catalonia is a region that is not commonly known in the Western Hemisphere. The autonomous community is located in the northern extremity of Spain and borders France. Being part of Spain since the 15th century, Catalonia is an important region for Spain as it contains the second largest city in the country, Barcelona, and accounts for about 20% of Spain’s 2013 GDP according to CNBC (http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/05/catalonia-is-critical-contributor-to-spains-economy/html). Catalan not only contributes a large amount to Spain GDP but in general contributes a tremendous amount to the government. According to a study by Guillem López Casasnovas, a professor of economics at Barcelona’s Pompeu Fabra University and an economics council for the Catalan president, the region contributes  120% in tax revenue per capitia, but ends up with only 90% of average government resources per capitia; while other regions contribute 70% in average tax revenues and receive 110% in average government resources.

      To a majority of Catalans, they consider this unfair, and it has prompted some to support independence of the region from Spain. Supporters of the succession believe that their region’s economy is substantial enough to survive on its own. The Spanish economy minister, Luis de Guindos believes otherwise. Guindos warns the region that if they were to leave, their economy would shrink as much as 30%, and 75% of their productions would be subject to export tariffs. But Catalans believe that they would be able to have a stable economy since their’s compares to the economies of Finland and Portugal.

     Supporters of independence have other reasons than the region’s economic potential for the referendum being successful. Catalonia is a region with a culture that is thought to be completely different to other regions in Spain. The region even has its own language, Catalan, that is closer to Italian and French than Spanish.  Catalonia practices their culture since their formation of the region, until 1975, the year dictator Francisco Franco died. During Francisco Franco’s reign, Franco suppressed all aspects of Catalonian culture in order to have Spain under complete unity. Now, the region has a thriving culture that some believe is completely different compared to the rest of Spain, another reason why some want independence.

     But if Catalan is able to survive on its own and differs from Spain, what is stopping the region? The only obstacle to Catalan gaining independence is the constitution of Spain. Under the Spanish constitution, the referendum is illegal, because of this the government has stopped all attempts of the referendum from occurring. Police and military officials have censored websites and any other sort of advertisement that encourages the referendum. They have confiscated materials for the referendum to occur and blocked off polling sites. However, the opposition of the Spanish government did not stop the referendum from occurring, and the voting was able to happen October 1, 2017. An overwhelming number of 90.18% of the citizens voted yes to the question: “Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a republic?” This was more then enough for Carles Puigdemont, the Catalonia president, to declare independence from Spain.

     While Catalonia has declared itself independent, the Spanish government has not officially declared the region its own nation. Some government leaders will not acknowledge the region;s declaration of independence as it is unconstitutional under Spanish law. Others will not accept the declaration since Catalonia has not been able to provide a substantial plan or can come to an agreement with the Spanish government. Tensions continue to rise as the fate of Catalonia is still being determined.