On 2012-09-21, at 10:00 AM, Wojtek S wrote:
> [WS:] Frankly, I do not think much will come out of it. At best (or
> worst, depending on one's perspective) it would Quebec redux - a few
> symbolic gestures symbolizing local autonomy.
The French-speaking Quebecois and the Basques have gained some benefits by securing more autonomy within the Canadian and Spanish federations respectively - in particular, more control over taxation, resources, and language rights, the latter specifically in regard to the language of work. To be sure, these gains have not fundamentally altered power and property relations between the classes, but they're seen as somewhat more than merely "symbolic" acquisitions, and the national minorities which have secured them have shown no inclination whatsoever to cede them back to the federal state.
Independence is quite distinct from autonomy, and that is what the mass of Catalans seem to be demanding as against the negotiations for more autonomy being conducted by their ruling party and the federal Rajoy administration. Independence implies the adoption of a sovereign currency - such as the old Catalan peseta or the drachma in the case of the Greeks. It's unclear whether the process will advance this far, but more than a few mainstream and heterodox economists have seen leaving the eurozone as central to the highly indebted peripheral countries unyoking themselves from ECB-EU-IMF austerity and laying the basis for economic recovery.