33.7% of Catalan citizens support independence according to a Spanish Government survey

Madrid (ACN).- 55.1% of Catalans would like a Catalan state, either independent from Spain (33.7%) or within a federal Spain (21.4%), according to the ‘Autonomic Barometer’ issued on Friday by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS), which is the Spanish Government’s public opinion survey institute. The poll also indicated that 29.4% of the interviewees would like Catalonia to continue in the current Autonomous Community model and 12.1% would like it to be a “region of Spain”. The remaining 3.3% did not know or did not answer the question. The survey was taken between September and October but the results were only recently released in early May, more than half a year later. 1,186 people were interviewed.

65.1% of the interviewees want more power for the Catalan Government

The CIS survey also indicates the interviewees’ main preference regarding the organisation of the Spanish State. 37.4% of the interviewees would prefer Spain to allow the Autonomous Communities the possibility to become independent states. In addition, 27.7% would back giving the Autonomous Communities greater power than they currently have. This means that 65.1% of the interviewees would like the Catalan Government to have greater power than they do now, according to the Spanish Government’s institute. On the other hand, 13.9% would prefer the Catalan Government to have fewer power than it has at the moment: 2.9% would support keeping the Autonomous Community model but with more power for the Spanish Government and 11.0% would back a recentralised Spanish State without Autonomous Communities. Finally, 16.7% of the interviewees would prefer to keep the current situation as it is and 4.3% did not know or did not answer.

The percentages slightly vary if the question is about Catalonia’s level of autonomy. 68.6% of Catalans would support a higher level of autonomy than the current one. 19.1% of the interviewees would keep the current level and 8.1% would prefer a lower level. 4.1% did not know or did not answer the question.

38.5% of Spaniards would back reducing the Autonomous Communities’ power

If the question about the organisation of the Spanish State is made at a Spanish level, 38.5% of the citizens would prefer the Autonomous Communities to have less power: 23.6% would support total recentralisation without the Autonomous Communities and 14.9% would reduce their power. 31% of Spaniards would prefer the model and the power distribution among government levels to stay as it is. Finally, 21.1% of Spaniards would back greater or total autonomy for the Communities: 12% would prefer a greater devolution and 9.1% would support allowing the possibility of an Autonomous Community to become independent.

42% of Catalans think the organisation of the Autonomous Communities was positive

Regarding the opinion about how the Autonomous Communities model has worked over the last three decades, 42% of Catalans think it was positive while 38.9% think the contrary. 12.4% do not define the experience as positive or negative. The main reason for those having a positive opinion of the system is the greater proximity between citizens and institutions, followed by the defence of their own identity, culture and language. Those that think it has been negative consider that it has increased public spending. Their second main reason is that it did not provide enough autonomy.