Rabat – On October 1, tension mounted in the northern Spanish region of Catalonia as police intervened to stop a referendum on independence from taking place. Thousands of local residents showed up to cast their vote and partake in the democratic process that would decide the fate of their relations with Spain. The referendum, however, renewed tension between Spain’s capital Madrid and Catalonia’s local government. It was held despite Madrid’s crackdown but police intervention left several people injured; voters were pictured with bloodied faces and torn clothes.
This weekend tensions escalated once more as Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy revealed plans to dissolve the Catalan government by removing elected leaders, including the region’s president Carles Puigdemont. Rajoy’s measures were announced after an emergency cabinet meeting was held this Saturday. It sparked an outcry in the Catalonia’s capital Barcelona, where over half a million people took to streets to protest his moves.
The Spanish PM said that Catalonia will be stripped of its autonomy and subject to direct rule by the Spanish government under Article 155 of the 1978 Spanish Constitution. Article 155 allows the federal government to implement measures necessary to ensure compliance from regional governments. According to Qatari news outlet Al Jazeera, the use of this article is voted on in Senate if a regional government acts in a way that seriously undermines the interests of Spain.
However, Rajoy’s announcements sparked widespread condemnation among Catalan leaders. Puigdemont outright rejected Rajoy’s plans, stating that Catalonia would refuse to accept direct rule under the Spanish government. He
Puigdemont described Rajoy’s plans as the “worst attacks against the people of Catalonia since General Franco’s dictatorship.” Puigdemont was alluding to a time during the Civil War (1936-1939) in which the military dictator Franco dissolved Catalonia’s autonomy for resisting his rule. Puigdemont also accused the Spanish government of attempting to “eliminate the Catalan self-government and its democracy.”
In response, Rajoy claimed that the Spanish government “had to enforce Article 155.” He continued that “It was not our desire, nor our intention. It never was.”
The Spanish prime minister added that the government will undertake plans to achieve four main objectives: the restoration of normalcy and coexistence to Catalonia, the continuation of the region’s economic recovery, a return to legality and the holding of elections under normal conditions. Rajoy also affirmed that there will be regional elections within a period of six months “as soon as institutional normality is restored.”
