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After months of speculation, Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida, the leader of the Christian-Democrat party UDC – which is the smallest force within the governing  two-party centre-right pro-Catalan State coalition CiU – presented his new political initiative to build an alternative option between the current territorial model and independence from Spain. Duran has been advocating for the creation of a confederated Catalan State within a more decentralised Spain, which would recognise Catalonia's nationhood, respect Catalan language and launch a fairer inter-territorial fiscal scheme for Catalan interests. With the platform 'Construïm' ('We build', in English), Duran is now trying to reach new potential voters "who feel orphaned from any political party"; voters worried about "social issues" and the economy, "beyond the debate about independence". With early elections on the horizon, the initiative is likely to represent the split of the CiU, which has been the main actor of Catalan politics for the last 35 years.

Josep Lluís Núñez Clemente – aged 83 – and his son – who had been Director of the family company – have been accused of bribing tax inspectors in the 1990s regarding their private business and have entered jail this weekend for a 2 year sentence. Núñez senior chaired FC Barcelona between 1978 and 2000 but his sentence has nothing to do with the famous sports club's activities. After one of the longest judicial processes in Spain's history, Núñez senior and his son were initially convicted in July 2011 with 6 years in prison and a €2 million fine. They were accused of bribing tax inspectors with €1 million in order to avoid paying more than €13 million in taxes between 1991 and 1999, and of forging official documents. However, they appealed the decision and the Spanish Supreme Court reduced their prison time. They filed a last appeal to avoid going to prison but in October 2014 Barcelona's High Court ratified their imprisonment. Considering Núñez senior's age, he could be granted day parole in a few weeks.

As he announced on Tuesday, the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, has begun a round of talks with the leaders of the parties that ran in the last Catalan elections supporting the right to self-determination. Mas aims to gather views and proposals about future scenarios and early elections. This includes the parties that backed the current self-determination process and the organisation of a consultation vote on November 9, by reaching an agreement in December 2013. But it also includes the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), which ran in November 2012 backing a legal self-determination vote but whose previous and current leaderships do not back the current process. After the talks, Mas will take a few days to think, and very likely to talk again with some parties, and on November 24 he will announce his own road map for the next few months.

Josep Maria Vila d'Abadal, the President of the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI), wanted to reassure the mayors that have offered municipal venues to host polling stations on Sunday, particularly in small towns and villages where the Catalan Government does not have facilities of its own. "Mayors do not have to be afraid of anything […] because their legal coverage is guaranteed" stated Vila d'Abadal, who is also the Mayor of Vic (a city in Central Catalonia). He also announced that the AMI – which co-organised the massive pro-independence demonstrations of 2012, 2013 and 2014 – and the Catalan Association of Municipalities will send a letter on Friday reassuring mayors. According to Vila d'Abadal "the future of Catalonia […] as a people" is at stake on November 9. According to him, after Sunday's vote, the most likely scenario is the one leading Catalans towards independence.

On Thursday, the Spanish Government’s main advisory body – the State Council – has issued a non-binding report upon the request of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy against the alternative consultation vote that the Catalan Executive is organising for November 9. This body has unanimously recommended taking Catalonia’s participatory process to the Constitutional Court and requesting its suspension. Now, Rajoy has the green light to make such a step on Friday, only 9 days before the vote is supposed to happen. Meanwhile in Catalonia, all the parties supporting the self-determination process are insisting on continuing to work for high citizen participation on the 9^th of November. Furthermore, on Wednesday evening, they started campaigning and the Catalan Government launched the website to inform citizens about their exact voting place. Besides, those against independence in Catalonia are divided between those asking Rajoy to be smart and not to appeal, and those asking him to stop the vote.

Catalan author Jaume Cabré’s latest novel 'Jo confesso' has been translated into English and is finally hitting bookstores in the Anglophone world for the first time since its original publication in 2011. It was translated by Mara Faye Letham and published by Arcadia books. The novel, which this year won the Courrier International Prize for 'Best foreign novel', as well as several Catalan literature awards, has already been translated into Spanish, German, Italian and Chinese, among others. This is another success for Catalan literature, after the publication in English of 'Quadern gris' ('The Grey Notebook') by Josep Pla and the Joan Sales classic 'Incerta Glòria' ('Uncertain Glory'). Catalan literature is blossoming among English readers, thanks to the recent translations of several other classics.

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural, which are the civil society associations that organised the massive pro-independence demonstrations in 2012, 2013 and 2014, have given their support to the alternative consultation vote proposed by the Catalan Government but on the condition of early elections taking place within the next three months. On Sunday, the ANC and Òmnium gathered 110,000 people (according to Barcelona local police) in Catalunya Square, three times more than the pro-Spanish-unity demonstration that took place in the same place a week earlier. In front of a pro-independence crowd, the two civil society organisations demanded unity of action from the parties supporting self-determination. They called for "a massive mobilisation" in the alternative participatory process of the 9^th of November, being "the first round" of the early elections, which should become a 'de facto' referendum on independence.

The Catalan Government is currently preparing its budget for the next year. However, it is uncertain whether a new budget will be approved or the current one will have to be extended. The Government's parliamentary supports are uncertain because of self-determination and the prospect of early elections on the horizon of to be transformed into a plebiscite on independence. The governing centre-right pro-Catalan State coalition CiU does not have a majority in the Parliament. Its ally over the last two years, the left-wing Catalan independence party ERC, is reluctant to reach a deal because the original self-determination consultation vote was cancelled by the Government. Meanwhile, CiU's anti-independence sectors are trying to reach a deal with the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) and the Spanish Government is trying to promote an anti-independence alliance between these last two.

After the cancellation of the original consultation vote scheduled for the 9^th of November, parties are preparing for hypothetical early elections, transformed into a de facto referendum on independence. The parliamentary stability alliance between the governing centre-right pro-Catalan State coalition CiU and the opposition left-wing Catalan independence party ERC is seriously damaged. This affects the approval of the Catalan Government's budget for 2015 and a potential electoral alliance in such a plebiscite on independence. CiU, formed by the Liberal CDC and the Christian-Democrat UDC, and social-democrat ERC were the three main parties within the pact for the consultation vote scheduled. As preparations for the 9^th of November would have required breaking Spanish law, tensions between them were raised. After the pact was broken, there have been efforts to work together again on different fronts, while UDC is looking for new allies.

On Spain's National Day, the 12^th of October, the unionist association called Catalan Civil Society (SCC) organised a massive demonstration against Catalonia's self-determination and independence in downtown Barcelona, which was backed by the People's Party (PP) – running the Spanish Government, the anti-Catalan nationalist party Ciutadans (C's) and the Spanish nationalist party UPyD. It is the 3^rd consecutive year that a demonstration has been organised to support Spain's unity on the 12^th of October in the Catalan capital.  As happened on the two other occasions, organisers failed to fill up Catalunya Square although they gathered thousands of people carrying Spanish and Catalan flags. According to Barcelona's Police, 38,000 participated in it, while according to the Catalan Police 1.8 million people participated in the rally for the consultation vote and independence a month ago.

FC Barcelona has joined Catalonia’s National Alliance for Self-Determination, which groups together more than 3,000 organisations, such as chambers of commerce, employers’ associations, trade unions, political parties, NGOs, etc. The world famous sports club therefore backs Catalonia’s self-determination process and will participate in this group that works to push it forward. Furthermore, in the last few weeks leading Catalan sportsmen such as Xavi Hernández, Gerard Piqué, Pep Guardiola, Cesc Fàbregas, Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Aleix Espargaró and Pol Espargaró have given their explicit support to Catalonia’s right to hold a self-determination vote to decide on its own political future, regardless of whether they would vote for independence or not. In fact, only Guardiola has openly backed independence, although none of the others have specified being against it.

In addition, the Spanish nationalist and populist partyUPyD compared Catalonia's self-determination process with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, in a letter sent to all the 751 Members of the European Parliament. Furthermore, it states that "defending democracy in Europe" means stopping Catalonia's "illegal referendum", thus denying the existence of a Catalan nation.  Furthermore, after the recent measures adopted by Catalan authorities to organise a non-binding consultation vote on independence, UPyD – with no representation in Catalonia – filed on Wednesday a judicial complaint at the Supreme Court against the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, and most of the members of the Catalan Parliament's Bureau, including its President, Núria de Gispert. UPyD accuses all them of "disobedience" while Mas has also been accused of "an alleged prevarication offense", as well as of "usurpation of powers" and "embezzlement".

Pimec and Foment, Catalonia’s largest employers’ associations, have expressed outrage at the Spanish Government’s budget proposal for 2015 and its planned investment in Catalonia. Both Foment, which groups the largest employers, and Pimec, who represents small and medium-sized enterprises, have criticised that the Spanish Government has allocated to Catalonia only 9.5% of Spain’s total investment, despite it contributing 19% of the country's GDP and having 16% of its population. Spokespersons for both organisations have said the shockingly low budget is at odds with Catalonia’s high productivity and represents "a missed opportunity", both for economic growth and political dialogue, considering the independence debate. According to Ramon Adell, from Foment, Catalonia "as the engine of recovery, deserves a greater investment in infrastructure."

The Law on Consultation Votes, which will be used to call the non-binding consultation vote on independence scheduled for the 9^th of November, has been approved by 79% of the Catalan Parliament, with the only opposition being from Spanish nationalists People's Party (PP) and Ciutadans (C's). This bill was already foreseen in the 2006 Statute of Autonomy, Catalonia's main law after the Constitution, but it had not been approved yet. Now, once the law is published on Catalonia's Official Journal (DOGC), the Catalan President will immediately sign the Decree calling November's vote. The Spanish Government announced last week it already had two appeals ready to be filed to the Constitutional Court – even though the definitive law had not been approved yet. If the Constitutional Court accepts the appeals, it will immediately suspend the Catalan Law and the Decree for a 5-month temporary period, which could be extended until it reaches a final decision.

"Madrid, but also Brussels" should take note that "these people want to vote", stated the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, after the massive pro-independence demonstration, which gathered 1.8 million people according to the local police. Mas met with the civil society associations organising the rally after the event and "congratulated" them. "There is barely any other country or society throughout the world that has this mobilisation level" and can send such a "powerful message" in such a peaceful and festive way. In addition, he agreed with the organisers that the "unity" among those supporting self-determination "is fundamental". "I commit myself to do whatever is possible, whatever is needed" to guarantee such a unity. "I am fully engaged in making sure people can vote", he concluded.