Since September 11, 2012 — the National Day of Catalonia — the Catalan independence movement has burst onto the scene. The independence movement has steadily displayed its strength, from that year’s gigantic 11S demonstration, to the historic human chain known as Vía Catalana (or Catalan Way), which spanned the country on September 11, 2013, and finally the mass protest in the form of a “V” (as in victory and vote) last September.

In the past two and half years the independence process has jumped from stage to stage. The 2012 demonstration marked its abrupt emergence and the confirmation that independence had become a central demand of Catalan society, one that would influence the political agenda in its immediate future. Throughout 2013 parties in favor of the sovereignty process, under the aegis of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), the movement that has driven the entire process, began talks to set the conditions for holding the referendum.

The 2013 demonstration exerted decisive pressure compelling the parties to reach an agreement, which was announced on December 12, 2013. Accordingly, a referendum or “civic consultation” was set for November 9, 2014. It asked a double question: “Are you in favor of Catalonia becoming a State? If so, do you wish it to be independent?”