Graphic: Which other regions want to secede from Spain?
Madrid plans to use Article 155 of its constitution to dissolve Catalonia’s parliament and directly administer the northeastern region. Rule by Madrid could have a dramatic effect on Spain’s independence movements.
Fears that Catalonia’s distinct culture and language are under threat drive the Catalan’s independence push. There are four ethnolinguistic groups in Spain, including the central Spanish identity, each with varying degrees of separatist sentiment.
Basque country: Respect for minority rights is central to the Basque people. Their language, Euskara, is unrelated to any other.
Catalan countries: Other Catalan regions include Valencia, Catalonia’s southern neighbour and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
Galicia: The Kingdom of Galicia, which existed from the fifth century, also has a unique identity, language, and separatist strain.
