Catalans Rally in Barcelona After Declaration of Independence
he Catalan parliament has voted in favor of declaring independence from Spain. Madrid, in turn, has decided to impose direct rule on the region.The Spanish Senate approved invoking Article 155 of the constitution, thus suspending Catalonia’s status as an autonomy. The move came right after the Catalonian Parliament had voted to declare independence: out of 135 lawmakers, only 82 participated in a secret ballot, with seventy supporting independence and 10 opposing it.On October 1, some 90 percent of voters cast their ballots in support of sovereignty during Catalonia’s independence referendum. Spain’s government has refused to recognize the Catalan’s will. (https://sputniknews.com/europe/201710271058597890-catalonia-independence-barcelona-rally/)
EU warns ‘more cracks’ in bloc as Spain dissolves Catalonia’s parliament after it declares independence
The EU’s most senior official warned that “more cracks” were emerging in the bloc on Friday after the Catalan parliament declared independence from Spain, plunging the country into political and economic turmoil
Madrid swiftly responded to the vote by dissolving the Catalan parliament and dismissing Carles Puigdemont as president of Catalonia and his entire government.
Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, announced that regional elections would be held in December and said the unprecedented act of imposing direct rule on the regional was needed to “recover normality”. (Read more at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/27/spanish-government-demands-special-powers-could-remove-catalan/)
Catalan leader vows ‘peaceful resistance’ as Madrid takes control of region
Carles Puigdemont issues defiant video message urging ‘democratic opposition’ as cabinet are removed from their posts
The Catalan leader has issued a defiant response to Madrid’s decision to take direct control of Catalonia, calling for “democratic opposition” to the takeover.
In a brief video message issued on Saturday afternoon, Carles Puigdemont vowed to continue working to build “a free country” (Read more at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/28/spain-fires-catalan-government-independence-carles-puigdemont-mariano-rajoy)
Catalonia Just Declared Independence
By Feargus O’Sullivan
And that may not even be the most dramatic Spanish political event of the day.
After weeks of brinkmanship, it’s finally happened: On Friday the Catalan Parliament voted in favor of Catalonia declaring independence from the rest of Spain, with a view to breaking off as a sovereign republic.
The vote, which delivered 70 votes for independence against 10 against and two blank ballots, came after a predictably heated session when Catalonia’s Socialist Party (the PSC) walked out of the 135-seat chamber in protest before voting took place. While that boycott is a threat to the perceived validity of the parliament’s vote, pro-independence forces nonetheless received an outright majority, albeit a modest one. (Read more at https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/10/catalonia-just-declared-independence/544207/)
Spain imposes military rule in Catalonia to preempt independence bid
By Alex Lantier and Alejandro López
The Spanish Senate formally voted 214-47 on Friday to authorize the implementation of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, suspending parliamentary rule in Catalonia. It handed Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy full powers to suspend the Catalan regional government, proceed with punitive measures outlined in Rajoy’s October 21 speech, and impose an unelected Catalan government answerable only to Madrid.
As Article 155 was being debated in the Senate, where Rajoy’s right-wing Popular Party (PP) has an absolute majority, the Catalan parliament anticipated the outcome of the debate and voted to declare independence. Thousands of protesters surrounded Catalan government buildings in Barcelona Friday night amid calls to defend the newly-declared republic. (Read more at http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/10/28/spai-o28.html)
Podemos’ Alternative for Catalonia
The crisis in Catalonia is an opportunity to build a new, democratic and plurinational Spain.
After last weekend’s contested referendum was marked by widespread police violence, the standoff between the Spanish and Catalan governments continues.
The stakes were increased when Regional Premier Carles Puigdemont told the BBC that Catalonia would unilaterally declare independence within “in a matter of days.” This was followed by a judgement from the Constitutional Court in Madrid suspending Monday’s session of the Catalan parliament. (Read more at http://www.defenddemocracy.press/podemos-alternative-for-catalonia/)
