Over the past three months the level of concern among Spaniards about the proposed independence of Catalonia has tripled.

Some surveys suggest that more than half of people in Spain are in favour of a mutually agreed referendum. But opinions vary considerably:

00:19 – Vox Pop man

“I’ve noticed that some customers won’t buy Catalan products.

00: 24 Voxpop Woman

“I would be totally open to dialogue and – sometimes when I say that, people on both sides get uncomfortable”

00: 32 Voxpop same man

“In my opinion there’s no rejection. I think there are a lot of people there who feel Spanish and that’s the subject of dialogue, within the whole legal framework. “

00: 43- Voxpop same woman

“I may also want independence, I think if I were Catalan I would like it too, I’m not sure, but I really understand them.”

One person who has considerable knowledge of the issues facing the country is Raphael Minder who’s been a correspondent of the New York Times in Spain for seven years and author of a book on Catalonia.

01:02 – Raphael Minder – Author of ‘The Struggle For Catalonia’

“I have met many people who have explained to me that they are really sad, sad just to see what is happening. Because they don’t really understand it and their daily lives aren’t about independence. They’re about concrete issues like finding a job, and good schools. At the moment we haven’t arrived at what I call the real fracture point and I hope we never get there. Where people not only refuse to talk to each other but actually want to hit each other. I really hope it doesn’t get to that. “