Catalan Parliament Declares Independence From Spain

Catalan Parliament Declares Independence From Spain.

BARCELONA, Spain — Spain faced a territorial showdown Friday with dueling votes over the future of Catalonia. Lawmakers in the regional parliament voted to secede and establish an independent Catalan Republic — an extraordinary move met moments later by a Spanish Senate vote to authorize the government to take control of the prosperous northeastern region.

A majority of senators gave Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy the go-ahead to apply unprecedented constitutional measures, including firing Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont and his Cabinet and curtailing Catalan parliamentary powers.

It will be the first time in four decades of democratic rule in Spain that the national government in Madrid will directly run the affairs of one of the country’s 17 semi-autonomous regions, a move that will likely fan the flames of the Catalan revolt.

A spokesman with the central government said Rajoy’s Cabinet would enact the measures immediately during an urgent meeting later Friday.

In Barcelona, the main city in Catalonia, the vote on the motion to secede was approved with 70 in favor of independence, 10 against and two blank ballots in Catalonia’s 135-member parliament.

Outside the parliament, thousands who had gathered to call for independence cheered at the news, with some dancing and raising glasses to toast the vote after seeing the vote-counting live on a giant screen.

No country has expressed support for independence for Catalonia, a region of 7.5 million people. Catalonia represents a fifth of Spain’s gross domestic product and polls show its people roughly evenly divided over independence. The regional government said a disputed October 1, 2017 referendum, which was banned by Spain’s Constitutional Court, had given it the mandate to declare independence.

Catalonia Just Declared Independence From Spain. What’s Going On?

Catalonia – one of the major regions in Spain – is battling to declare independence and become its own country. We traveled to the area to hear different perspectives on the independence movement and witness the massive demonstrations.

Catalonia Independence From Spain (For Dummies)