Polls open in Spain's Catalonia region: Separatist and pro-unity parties vie for votes

Polls are now open in Catalonia in Spain. The governing separatist party called the vote early, after parliament failed to pass the region’s budget. It could reignite debate about Catalan independence - and even the stability of the national government. Six years ago, the region held a referendum to break away from Spain - a vote Madrid did not recognise. Several separatist leaders are now in jail while party leader Carles Puigdemont is a fugitive in France. Juan Rodriguez Teruel is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Valencia. He explained that independence is no longer the hot button topic it once was, and that voters are increasingly preoccupied with other issues such as education and healthcare. Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #Spain #Catalonia #CataloniaElections #CataloniaPolitics #AlJazeeraEnglish