Summary: As Catalonia prepares to hold a historic referendum on whether to split from Spain, Catalonia's pro-independence President Carles Puigdemont, a former journalist, talks to Al Jazeera's John Hendren. He says “one important thing has happened in the past few days. There is a new majority in Catalonia, a wide ranging majority amongst the Catalans people which has grown that want to vote – be it ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but they want to vote and this is unstoppable. Referendums are not carried out by the courts or the police, its voters who make up a referendum… The wish to vote is unstoppable. You cannot put a brake on it.…Today the debate is not between independence yes or no, it’s above all between those who wish to create a new state right from the grassroots. A modern state. Or to continue with an authoritarian state which can cut back on our freedom, our liberties, to compel us to continue forming part of this state.” More from Talk To Al Jazeera on: YouTube - http://aje.io/ttajYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/talktoaj Twitter - http://twitter.com/talktoaljazeera Website - http://www.aljazeera.com/talktojazeera/
