BREAKING: Catalonia Declares Independence

[Hydera]

Official provisional results of the referendum:

Yes 2,020,144(90 %)
No 176,566(7,8 %)
Turnout: 2,262,464 (using the 2015 regional election as a benchmark, 41% turnout)

Some votes still to be counted, like 50 000 or so.

If you take into account the ballots seized by the police, does the turnout rise to 50 percent?

Who knows?

According to the pro-independence side there were 700k ballots seized which would place turnout at 54% turnout or so. Others claim that had there been no police intervention turnout would have reached 55%. Of course unionists will claim that it's less, that the people whose ballots were seized voted elsewhere anyways or that there were tons of instances of people voting more than once.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_self-determination_referendum,_2014

in the non binding referendum where spain didnt sent the guardia civil the votes for Yes was 2,111,000 and 230,000 no or invalid. turnout of 37% of the electorate. its unlikely that even without the guardia civil that turnout would be higher.

[Hydera]

Can't Spain just give Catalonia Scotland like devolved powers within a united and indivisible Spain?

They already have since the re-establishment of democracy in Spain. What they didnt have is more control over taxes that go to the central government because they get less in return than what they pay. But Rajoy has decided to work with PSOE to change it because he knows its the quickest way to lower support for Independence if he diffuses one and the main argument they have for independence.

[Hydera]

Can't Spain just give Catalonia Scotland like devolved powers within a united and indivisible Spain?

It already has, Catalonia has had a devolved government since 1980 or so. Of course, unlike in the UK (where England has no devolved powers except for London) in Spain everyone got a devolved government.

Both countries are still considered unitary states though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalism

yes but they have the powers of an autonomous region. its not federalism thats the issue its the issue over catalonia paying more tax revenue to the spanish government and getting less back which unites Left wing catalonian naionalists(ERC, CUP) and right wing catalonian nationalists(Pdecat). left wingers want the money to be abl to spend more on social services and the right wingers want the money because they feel its their right.