NPR

In Spain, Catalans Are Divided Over Independence Vote As Referendum Approaches

Catalonia's independence referendum is scheduled for Oct. 1, but polls show as many as half of Catalans don't favor it. "For business owners, independence is a loaded issue," says a Catalan winemaker.
The main square of Batea, a town of about 2,000 residents in Spain's northeast region of Catalonia. The mayor opposes Sunday's independence referendum and has not given permission for voting to take place in municipal buildings.

For 28 years, Joaquim Paladella has been mayor of his hometown of Batea, a pretty sandstone village of 2,000 people, nestled in vineyards west of Barcelona.

It's a place with more tractors than cars. There's so much farmwork, Batea has almost full employment. The jobless rate is 3 percent, one of the lowest in Spain.

Whenever there are elections for local, regional and national offices, Paladella sets

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