Press room

The Complutense University of Madrid is to host the presentation of the results of the Spanish part of the Diagnosis of Perceptions: Catalonia-Spain, produced by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) today. This diagnosis includes results from two separate surveys carried out simultaneously in Catalonia and the rest of Spain. The results come from a sample of 1,883 interviews in Spain and 2,614 in Catalonia with people aged between 15 and 74.

Reaction to a hypothetical referendum on Catalan independence

Faced with the hypothetical situation of Catalonia holding a referendum and voting in favour of independence, the majority of Spaniards surveyed said they would be in favour of opening political negotiation between the governments of Catalonia and Spain to avoid separation (72%) and accepting the wishes of the Catalan people (52%); many more than those who favoured restrictive or punitive alternatives. Likewise, it is noteworthy that the majority were against annulling Catalonia’s autonomy (69%), imposing economic sanctions on Catalonia (69%) or the use of force to stop it (89%).

With respect to the principles and political values of the people of Spain, the study showed that, in the case of a democratic decision that went against the current law in force, most of those interviewed (60%) stated that “democratic principles” should prevail, as opposed to those who preferred the “law in force” (22.3%). Another important question posed as part of the study referred to the opinion of those surveyed in terms of the right to self-determination; ie, the right to freely and democratically decide one’s political future. In this case, the most popular response was that “generally speaking, yes” (80.2%) they were in favour.

Perceptions on Catalonia’s level of autonomy and powers

When asked their opinion on Catalonia’s current level of autonomy, the majority of the Spaniards surveyed (57%) felt that it was sufficient; many more than thought it to be excessive (24%). The number of Spaniards in favour of Catalonia having specific powers over areas such as transport, calling of referendums, recognition of Catalan as a working language of the European Union, official recognition of Catalan sporting teams, collection of taxes or official representation before the United Nations was never more than 50%, and none of those involving international representation reached 25%. Likewise, faced with a hypothetical situation of political negotiation between Spain and Catalonia to avoid independence, only the ability to “collect their own taxes” received majority support (56%) from those surveyed. In this same context, official recognition of the Catalan language in Spanish institutions was the item that received least support (27%).

Position on a possible independent Catalan state

Finally, in terms of their opinion on how they see the economic situation in Spain evolving if Catalonia were to become an independent state, the majority (56%) thought that it would improve or remain the same. In terms of the political situation in Spain, they also thought it would improve or remain unchanged (62%).

At the event where the results were presented by Miquel Strubell, UOC lecturer and director of the study, a number of experts offered their thoughts on the data. The event was chaired by Carlos Berzosa, President of the Complutense University of Madrid, and Llorenç Valverde, UOC Vice President of Technology. The experts involved were Miguel Herrero Rodríguez de Miñón, politician and lawyer; José María Martín Patino, priest and President of the Encuentro Foundation; Ignasi Riera, writer, and José Juan Toharia, professor of Sociology at the Autonomous University of Madrid.