Euphoria reigned in many parts of Barcelona and the surrounding region of Catalonia on Monday, a day after 1.6 million people there cast symbolic votes to secede from Spain. But the sentiment for Catalan independence was not shared in Madrid, where there was skepticism, as Spain's Justice Minister called the straw vote a "farce" without any democratic validity. Even after more than 2 million Catalans voted on Sunday, defying two decisions by Spain's highest court that it was illegal to cast a ballot on independence, the two entrenched sides -- the Catalan government in Spain's second largest city of Barcelona and the Spanish government in the capital, Madrid -- seemed no closer to solving the thorny issue.
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Over 2 million Catalans voted on Sunday, defying decisions by Spain's highest court
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The result heavily favors independence, but Madrid says symbolic vote was a "farce"
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Catalan secessionists have staged massive street demonstrations in recent years
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The Spanish government says the constitution doesn't allow one region to unilaterally secede
None of that mattered on Sunday to many in @placeholder, in northeast Spain, where the regional government, backed by 40,000 volunteers instead of regular election officials, staged the symbolic vote.