Spain to block Catalonia referendum
Source: BBC
The Spanish government has vowed to block plans by parties in Catalonia to hold a referendum on independence on 9 November of next year.
"The poll will not be held," Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon told journalists moments after Catalonia's President, Artur Mas, announced a deal.
Mr Mas said agreement had been reached on the date and on two questions.
Voters would be asked if they wanted Catalonia to be a state and if they wanted it to be an independent state.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25353086
Can they really block a referendum? I can see they'd say "it has no validity" (both left and right in national politics oppose independence, by the way), but to prevent the question being asked in the first place seems a different matter.
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Even when Spain was an Empire, its regions were more independent then a united into a Single Nation-State (and one of the reason the Spanish Empire lasted so long, its rule was NOT that bad over the locals, for Spanish control depended more on local support for that rule then Spanish troops). Mexico, Central American and South America only became independent after Napoleon invaded Spain and replaced the old King with his brother. This gave the elites in Mexico, Central America and South America the ability to say they were supporting the old king not the new king. When Napoleon was defeated, these rebels liked the idea of being independent, but took some more years (and the Refusal of the British to transport the Russian Army to put down these rebels) to win independence.
By the way, the British refusal had to do with the fact since the switch in Kings, Britain had expanded its trade to what had been Spanish America and wanted to keep that trade. Thus the British refusal had to do with money not ethics. Furthermore the British made every effort to support these wars of Independence for it strengthen their trade with the Former Spainish Colonies.
More on the sub-regions of Spain:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_communities_of_Spain
Thus Italy and Spain have NEVER been united in the sense France is United. Germany (a Federation) may have more centralizaed power then the Spainish Central Government.
Just pointing out these countries are NOT as united as we have been left to think over the last 150 to 200 years
The same can be said of Italy, here is Italy before Napoleon invaded in 1796L
In 1494:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_states_of_Italy