On Sunday, Catalonian voters approved a referendum for greater autonomy from Madrid by about 75% of the population with nearly 50% turnout. Below is a summary of what’s at stake:

Residents of Catalonia will today vote in a referendum that could see the region granted more autonomy and move further away from Spain’s government.

If a yes vote is delivered as expected then the region will become one of the most independent in Europe, effectively achieving nation-within-a-nation status with powers to decide how taxes are spent and how visas are granted to immigrants.

Although the majority of Catalans are believed to be in favour of the plans, Spain itself is divided, with about half of the population against granting a greater degree of independence to a region that contributes 20 per cent of Spain’s economy despite only having about 15 per cent of its population.

Many Spaniards are also unhappy that the vote has not been extended to the entire country to decide Catalonia’s future, while the north-east region’s right-wing politicians are not satisfied with the new proposals and are calling for outright independence.

The build-up to today’s referendum began in September 2005, when Spain’s constitution was revised to refer to Catalonia as a nation.

People against granting more autonomy fear that other regions in Spain could follow Catalonia’s example, leading to the break-up of the entire country.

If last year could be considered a big year for democratic revolutions, this would be the one for independence movements. Groups from as far as Bolivia to Crimea are clamoring for more autonomy from their respective countries’ central governments, and many are succeeding. Some of these regions are wealthier than others and want to keep their own wealth; others seek an end to oppression; yet others are simply a different people and want to be ruled by their own. The vote in Catalunya has its own dynamics, deeply rooted in a history and culture swirling around these factors.

Catalunyans have their own culture that is distinct from that of Castillians–those who we think of when we think of the Spanish. Millions of people speak Catalan, their own language. It gives them their own sense of nationhood outside of their identity with Spain. It is this culture and people that were brutally repressed under the fascist dictatorship of Franco, who tried to wipe them as well as the Basques out completely.

Understandably, this has created a degree of disdain for centrally controlled power regardless of who holds the reigns in Madrid, much how Americans have historically been suspicious of government since independence from the British. The big difference is that America was an ocean away, yet Catalunya is smack in what has been considered Spain for a very long time. As well, many Catalunyans are not as fervent supporters of independence as many Basques are. Look at an opinion poll, and most Catalunyans consider themselves both Catalunyan as well as Spanish, with the lesser margins falling on both sides of that center. The desire just isn’t as deep. At most, Catalunyans will become highly autonomous, but never truly independent from Spain.

There is one more very important dynamic here: money. Catalunya is a small area, mostly captured in Barcelona, but it accounts for about 20% of all of Spain’s GDP. This charter would give the region more control over the ability to tax this wealth. This translates to more of their own money for them. Given the rather moderate attitude toward issues of nationhood and independence, I believe that this is the main reason that most Catalunyans would support the charter.

Now, with regards to the adoption of the charter, I think there are some big questions that must be asked before we cast our own vote on the actions taken.

Most Spaniards believe that the referendum should have been nationwide, so that everyone could decide on the status of Catalunya — not just its residents. But in a way, this would clearly contradict the self-determination of a people. Spain is a relatively new democracy; in fact, a relatively new country at that. It probably only remained whole at the end of the Franco dictatorship due to very broad and rigid pacting by the country’s different groups of elites at the time. It cannot be assumed that such a pact will last and remain workable indefinitely. Territories often united and countries often disintegrate. They have in years past and there is no reason to assume that it will not happen in the future. If Catalunyans want more autonomy from the Spanish national government, with all the consequences that the action would imply, why should anyone but them decide on it?… Will Spain then be one of those countries that, in the far off future, undergo a gentle divorce with its regions?

This referendum certainly sets a precedent. The Basque Country, much more fervent for independence, has watched the vote and the actions of the national government closely. So have similarly semi-autonomous regions around the globe. Is the future one of smaller, possibly more ethnic-based countries made feasible on the basis of cooperative confederation? Or is it more about the money? Or what?

Leave your comments for me to read. I’d be especially interested in hearing your thoughts on self-determination in this context. I’ll be in Barcelona in about two weeks and will be asking people on the street what they think.