Catalan Way
Catalonia saw several local referenda for independence take place in hundreds of villages between 13 September 2009 and April 2011, with an overwhelming number of "yes" votes being cast.
The 2012 Catalan independence demonstration, organized by the Catalan National Assembly, argued that Catalonia should become an independent state within the European Union, under the slogan "Catalonia, new state in Europe". The number of participants was estimated at about 1.5 million according to Barcelona's Municipal Police and Catalonia's Department of the Interior, about 2 million according to the organizers, and about 600,000 according to the delegation of the Spanish government in Catalonia.
Politics of Catalonia
There was a significant political controversy as a result of the Catalan parliament's proposed draft of a replacement Autonomy Statute which sought to define Catalonia as a 'nation'. Article 2 of the 1978 Spanish Constitution states that the constitution "is based in the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation ("Nación")" while also referring to the "right to autonomy of the nationalities and regions ("nacionalidades y regiones")". These nationalities and regions are left unnamed in the Constitution. The controversy centered on whether referring to any Autonomous Community of Spain as a "nation" may go against Article 2 and whether the Catalan claim to be a "nación" rather than a "nacionalidad" had separatist overtones subversive of the "indissoluble unity" of Spain. There was also a high degree of controversy about the control of all taxes, and a parallel judicial system. In the end, and after much controversy, a watered-down version was passed, although the political debate lingers on.