Catalonia, a northeastern region in Spain that borders Portugal, will make a final vote on seceding from Spain in order to gain its independence.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rojay has urged Catalonia to remain a part of the union for fear of economic recourse to the small region, similar to that of Mediterranean neighbor Greece who has had a devastating financial crisis recently, according to Yahoo! News.
Catalan has voted previously regarding the issue of independence from Spain, and a whopping 81 percent of voters voted in favor of secession, according to Business Insider.
"We have made it very clear that Catalonia wants to govern itself. We want to decide our political future and we have demonstrated that," Catalan President Artur Mas said in a Spain Report.
Reasons for the desire of independence are based on the crippling effect of civil wars in Spain between 1936-1939 which negatively impacted Catalan. Independence backers say a win would give the lawmakers a mandate to start drafting a Catalan constitution and attempt secession negotiations with the central government, according to US News. A declaration of independence could be made by 2017, separatists say, US News reported.
Rojay has stated that the secession from Catalan is illegal and would not even discuss the matter previously. With the gained support this movement has seen, Rojay now has expressed his disdain for the idea. Rojay has stated that this secession would leave Catalan in a financial crisis as well as strip it of its Spanish nationality. U.S. President Barack Obama and many world leaders want Spain to stay together.
