Catalonia wants out; Spain says no

...I believe that overcoming small states was an act of modernisation and emancipation...

It was seen in the Manifest Destiny that promulgated the belief that the U.S. should extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Foofie wrote:

It was seen in the Manifest Destiny that promulgated the belief that the U.S. should extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Had they asked me, I would have said from Baffin Bay to Tierra del Fuego.

The Spanish government has rejected a statement of independence signed by Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and dismissed calls for mediation.
Spain's deputy prime minister described Mr Puigdemont as someone "who does not know where he is, where he's going".
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is due to hold an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the government's next steps.
Mr Puigdemont signed a declaration of independence on Tuesday, but halted implementation to allow negotiations.
There had been speculation that the Catalan president might declare independence and put the move into effect, plunging Spain into an even deeper political crisis.
Spain has been in turmoil since a disputed referendum on 1 October which was declared invalid by the country's Constitutional Court.
Addressing the Catalan parliament in Barcelona, Mr Puigdemont said the autonomous region had won the right to be independent as a result of the vote.
"We call on international states and organisations to recognise the Catalan republic as an independent and sovereign state," he said.
He said the "people's will" was to break away from Madrid, but he also said he wanted to "de-escalate" the tension around the issue.
"I propose suspending the effects of the declaration of independence to undertake talks in the coming weeks without which it is not possible to reach an agreed solution," Mr Puigdemont told MPs.

I do think, too, that Lash is totally misrepresenting and wildly exaggerating what's going on, here and there.
And, true: that's what the extreme right has done and still does everywhere.

While I understand Lash's motivations, ...

In a live televised broadcast, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy tells parliament how he plans to move forward on the growing political crisis concerning Catalonia's independence bid. "The rule of law, plurality and democracy need to be recovered," said Rajoy.
[...]
The Spanish government will expect an act or statement of clarification from Catalan leaders on whether they declared independence, given Rajoy's latest statements.

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said Tuesday that although he accepted a "Yes" vote on independence during a controversial referendum earlier this month, the independence process will be suspended to allow for talks with Madrid. After a statement of clarification, the two sides will likely engage in bilateral talks about the future of the region.

The terms under which Catalonia enjoys semi-autonomous status are likely to change too. The ruling People's Party and opposition Socialists in Madrid said they agreed to open talks to renegotiate the terms of state autonomy as set out in the Spanish constitution in six months.
...
While the European Commission has stopped short of declining to mediate, the EU's executive body said it backs "full respect of the Spanish constitutional order."

But David McAllister, foreign affairs committee in the European Parliament, said the EU could and would not mediate unless it "was given a mandate" to do so, which is unlikely due to opposition from Rajoy.
...
There are two groups that have snubbed talk of dialogue between Madrid and Barcelona. In Catalonia, leftist groups have criticized the Catalan president for failing to outright declare independence. On the other side, rightwing unionists have attacked Rajoy for not triggering Article 155 and directly suspending Catalonia's independence after the referendum.
...
... Even if the Catalan government unilaterally declared independence, it is unlikely to gain international recognition, which would be necessary to participate in the global economy and international political order. For example, the German government said Wednesday that a declaration of independence "would be illegal and would not receive any recognition" from Berlin.

It not certain that a majority of Catalans are in favor of secession. By the "logic" just expressed, the American civil war was "dystopian" oppression.