Why "half" is often said:
- 2015 elections were considered "plebiscitary", i.e. in absence of a referendum, pro-independence parties ran together as one "yes to independence" vote. They obtained 39.6% of the vote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_regional_election,_201...
- Added together to radical left (anti-capitalist, pro-independence) parties, it adds up to 47.8% of the vote. With ~75% turnout. ~35% of census
- The "illegal referendum" this month resulted in 90.18% pro-yes with 43.03% turnout. ~38% of census. However, because of how it took place (not your normal election), the correctness of these results is often questioned, in one way or the other. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refer%C3%A9ndum_de_independenc...
Well, the "half" is a way of simplifying. Next elections will show an updated numbers. The reason I say half is that it's nonsense to pretend that approximately half of a population should be enough to bully the other half into a revolution that could cause a blood bath and creating millions of extrangers in their own country.
In Catalonia, secessionists feel free to talk about their political stance, and secessionists do not. This is probably caused by the sheer amount of demonstrations (rather aggressive in tone as well) by a demographic that cannot exceed 50% in any election.
You could argue that "half of Catalonia" is bullying the other "half" of it. One with massive demonstrations and government-sponsored strikes, the other one, with law and courts?
