Hundreds of thousands who want Catalonia to remain part of Spain have rallied in Barcelona, two days after separatists voted for the wealthy region to secede. Organizers said the goal of Sunday’s march’s was to defend Spain’s unity and reject “an unprecedented attack in the history of democracy”.
Leaders from the world have largely rallied behind Spain's central government after the Catalan parliament voted in favor of splitting from Madrid and establishing an independent republic. Spanish president Mariano Rajoy on Friday announced the dissolution of the Catalan parliament and called for snap regional elections in a swift response to the Catalan MPs' declaration for independence.
Spain's Senate on Friday authorized the government to apply constitutional measures to take control of the government of Catalonia. A majority of senators gave Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy the go-ahead through Article 155 of the constitution to apply unprecedented measures, including sacking Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet. It also authorized him to curtail Catalan parliamentary powers.
The Spanish Senate is poised to activate Article 155 of the country’s constitution on Friday, giving Madrid the power to take over Catalonia’s institutions and police and remove its regional leader from office.
Catalonia’s political leaders intend to bring a legal challenge to prevent the Spanish government from removing them from office and taking over running the region to stop its push for independence, a spokesman has said.
The ruling Catalan separatist coalition has said the regional parliament will hold a meeting on Thursday which many fear will become a cover for a vote on declaring independence from Spain.
Representatives of the government and parliament in Catalonia have warned that civil disobedience may be possible if Madrid actually triggered the constitutional clause stopping the autonomous rights of the region.
Catalonia’s separatists weighed their options Sunday ahead of a week that will see Spain take the drastic step of sacking the region’s government as well as calling fresh elections to try and stop the country breaking up.
The Spanish government moved decisively Saturday to use a previously untapped constitutional power so it can take control of Catalonia and derail the independence movement led by separatist politicians in the prosperous industrial region.
In his second intervention in the secession crisis, Spain's King Felipe VI has said Catalonia “is and will remain” an essential part of the country. He told an awards ceremony in the northern city of Oviedo that the Catalan government was causing a rift and Spain would solve the problem through democratic institutions.