The people of Catalonia, an autonomous region of Spain, have democratically spoken: They want out of the Kingdom of Spain, and they are supporting their leaders who are concocting a plan for independence to be achieved in the next two years. As 80 percent of more than two million Catalans turned to the polls to vote on an unofficial independence referendum, some residents of Guanacaste, the former “forgotten province” of Costa Rica, were paying close attention.

This is the second time in the last couple of months that people in Guanacaste are following democratic resolutions by a culturally defined region to secede from a constitutional sovereignty. Case in point, the Scottish independence referendum of September, which was reported by The Costa Rica Star as follows:

Independence may have been averted in Scotland, but the polling results of the historic referendum to separate the country from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are inspiring and motivating secession movements around the world.

The separatist sentiment has even reached Costa Rica, of all places. [A legislator in Guanacaste] celebrated the Scottish referendum of independence by posting a Twitter status update that exalted the events in the country that is known as Alba in Gaelic: Today is a great day of autonomy for Scotland. Perhaps someday we will vote here in Guanacaste and return to our independence?

The good people of Scotland, of course, voted to remain a part of the United Kingdom. Such is not the current sentiment in Catalonia, and legislator Ronal Vargas of Guanacaste, who represents the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) party has once again floated the possibility of Guanacaste voting to secede from Costa Rica. When radio journalists have questioned Legislator Vargas about the current events in Catalonia, he has drawn enthusiastic comparisons to Guanacaste.

Historically, the Nicoya Party at one point claimed more allegiance to Nicaragua than Costa Rica, but the people voted to be annexed to Costa Rica and thus stopped being autonomous in 1824. The annexation was later ratified more than once and eventually Costa Rica adopted the guanacaste tree as a national symbol. These days, the province’s motto is “De la patria por nuestra voluntad,” which can be translated to “we are of this country of our own will.”

On telephone calls to talk radio programs, however, reactions to Legislator Vargas’ support for seceding from Costa Rica have drawn ridicule, with one caller saying: “We are not the Scotland nor the Catalonia of Costa Rica. We hardly have any water. Get a grip and secede yourself off to Nicaragua.”