Vote Of Independence Of Catalonia

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Spain faces the greatest political crisis in its recent history after the Catalan parliament voted on Friday in favor of the declaration of independence and its separation from the rest of the state.

The Catalan autonomous chamber approved by 70 votes in favor, 10 against and two abstentions a resolution that sets in motion the creation of the Catalan Republic, by virtue of the result of a referendum held on October 1 that did not have the approval of the Spanish government and courts.

Next, the President of the Catalan Government, Carles Puigdemont, assured that a "long-awaited" step had been taken and urged to maintain the pulse with the Spanish State "in the field of peace, civility and dignity."

The result of the vote was celebrated by thousands of Catalan supporters of independence who followed the parliamentary procedure in the streets of Barcelona waving Catalan and independence flags.

In Madrid, the President of the Spanish Government, Mariano Rajoy, reacted to the decision of the Catalan Parliament, assuring that its Executive will take the measures to restore "legality" in Catalonia and asked for tranquility.

The Spanish Senate precisely granted the President this Friday broad extraordinary powers to intervene the Catalan government, administration and parliament, a measure that had been defined as the "nuclear option" because it eliminates self-government for the Catalans for the first time since the restoration of democracy.

At the same time, according to the press, the Spanish prosecution is preparing a lawsuit to prosecute the main independence leaders for crimes such as sedition. Two leaders of associations in favor of independence have already been in prison for more than a week for the same crime.

Rajoy affirmed in his speech this Friday in the Senate that he has not been left "alternative" by the decision of Puidgemont and his separatist cabinet to embark on an illegal and unilateral path towards independence.

"All this has been a continuous process of undemocratic decisions, contrary to the law," said Rajoy. [They are] contrary to normal behavior in any democratic country like ours."

The vote in Parliament and the granting of extraordinary powers to Rajoy come after attempts to reach an agreement have failed in recent days.

"No one will be able to reproach the Catalan side for the will to dialogue," Puidgemont said Thursday, after ruling out calling new elections instead of putting the independence resolution to a vote.

The Government of Catalonia has been embarking for years on a so-called sovereignist process in which the right to hold a referendum is demanded to decide whether it wants independence or remains within Spain.

The Spanish Government has refused to agree to hold a consultation of this nature on the grounds that it goes against the unity of the country provided for in the Constitution.

When the Catalan Government decided to call the referendum anyway despite the prohibition of the Constitutional Court, the Executive of Rajoy sent thousands of police to avoid holding it on October 1 and ignored the results, considering it "illegal".

What is expected to happen in the next few hours is that the Madrid Government makes use of the intervention powers it has obtained and assumes direct control of Catalan autonomy.

According to polls, support for independence in Catalonia does not narrowly reach 50 percent, although there is a clear majority in favor of a referendum.