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.
National Day for Yes
After the 1978 Spanish transition to democracy, Catalonia regained some autonomy. After 25 years of political stability some requests of more autonomy started to appear, resulting in a Catalan Statute of Autonomy in 2005 which became law in 2006. Spanish institutions asked to ban the new law, declaring it unconstitutional in 2010. This situation, in addition to the 2008 crisis, fuelled the first major autonomy demonstration in Barcelona on July 10, 2010 when a million people marched under the banner "We are a nation. We decide."