The separatist movement was fuelled by the fact that Catalonia gave a lot more in taxes than what it received in benefits. Catalonia is made up of 7.5 million people and accounts for 19% of Spain's GDP (gross domestic product).
This is a very complicated matter since not all of Catalonians agree with separating from Spain. Nobody is sure how many people are pro-separatist or anti-separatists. Spain is not even entertaining the idea of having a referendum, which the majority of Catalonians do want, regardless of their stance. I think that Catalonia should be able to hold a referendum, but I think that Spain is acting like this because it would lose a lot by letting Catalonia become its own country. Spain has a lot of publically funded programs such as free healthcare, free education, and more for the entire country, and Catalonia's taxes are a big reason as to why the government can afford these programs.
