#LoveDemocracy

It's a simple idea. Vote yes, or vote no.

But the government in Madrid will do almost anything to stop the Catalans voting yes, or no, on 1st October 2017. The referendum on independence, the clearly-stated aim of the government here in Catalonia and one for which the public voted at the last elections, is the subject of a complex game of chess with Madrid.

The latest move has been that the Minister for Local Government in the Spanish Government, Roberto Bermúdez de Castro, has written to the mayors of Catalonia telling them not to provide facilities (schools, town halls or other public buildings) for the Referendum.

The effect has been immediate.In less than 24 hours more than 560 mayors have signed a decree stating that they WILL collaborate with the referendum by providing facilities.

Here's the mayor of my village, Sant Esteve de Palautordera, signing:

Citizens of Sant Esteve de Palautordera, you can vote!

Down here in the villages and towns of Catalonia it's simple; people simply want to vote, quietly and calmly, yes, or no. Txarango's new song sums it up; people from the coast and the hills, reaching for the new horizon.

I can't vote, but a campaign - #votaxmi - has been launched to support the Referendum, aimed at anyone who lives here but who cannot vote. We #LoveDemocracy.