Mark your calendars for Catalonia’s independence referendum on October 1st

Mark your calendars for Spain’s Catalonia region’s independence referendum on October 1st. The Spanish government under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is looking at and pursuing every possible option to block votes including threatening mayors of the Catalonia region. Unless the Spanish government forcibly stops the vote using any means necessary, the vote is expected to be conducted on October 1st. In recent days, millions of supporters of independence gathered around various cities in the Catalonia region to push for the vote.

The comments from the European Commission chief shows that the threat of separation is quite real. European Commission chief, Jean Claude Juncker said that an independent Catalonia will not be automatically part of the European Union.

Here is why the referendum matters,

• Catalonia covers 6.3 percent of the entire territory of Spain.
• Catalonia is home to 16 percent of the entire population of Spain.
• Catalonia contributes about 20 percent to Spanish GDP and its share in Spanish exports is around 25 percent.
• It also contributes a fifth to the Spanish tax revenue.
• One of Spain’s most popular cities; Barcelona belongs to the Catalonia region.

Polling does suggest that Catalonia will vote for independence but it is not clear at this point, whether such an outcome will lead to independence or not. The event will surely add to the political turmoil in the region and is expected to impact the financial markets.