Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Barcelona on Tuesday for independence for the region of Catalonia. Marchers waved yellow-and-red-striped Catalan flags, below, and carried signs demanding independence from Spain. The police estimated the crowd at 1.5 million people. In response to Spain’s financial crisis, the Spanish government is forcing regions like Catalonia to enact drastic budget cuts. Catalonia, which accounts for 19 percent of Spain’s gross domestic product, has long demanded greater fiscal autonomy from Madrid and a lower contribution to a system that redistributes tax revenue to poorer regions. Catalonia also has the largest debt among Spanish regions, which has forced its government to make some of the deepest budget cuts in Spain.