Catalonia could declare independence even if it loses its autonomy.
Amid a serious political crisis, Spain is experiencing a historic day this Thursday (26): the Senate will begin debates on the suspension of Catalonia's autonomy while the region's leaders threaten to definitively proclaim independence during an assembly in the late afternoon.
Radio France International - Amid a serious political crisis, Spain is experiencing a historic day this Thursday (26): the Senate will begin debates on the suspension of Catalonia's autonomy while the region's leaders threaten to definitively proclaim independence during an assembly in the late afternoon.
The assembly is scheduled for 17 p.m. (13 p.m. Brasília time). The time was not chosen by chance by the president of the Catalan Parliament, Carme Forcadell. At the same time, in Madrid, a 27-member Senate committee begins discussions to decide whether to authorize Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government to dismiss the Catalan executive branch and place its police and Parliament under its control.
The decision, based on article 155 of the Constitution, should be announced this Friday (27) and would be valid for six months, until the organization of new elections, at the beginning of 2018. In principle, the senators' vote will be in favor of the government, which may also count on the support of the Socialist party and the liberals of the Ciudadanos party, born in Catalonia and opposed to independence.
The threats from separatists were reiterated on October 19th by the president of the Catalan government, Carles Puigdemont. Today he declared that suspending the government would create an even more serious situation in Catalonia. He promised to declare independence if the Spanish government continued to impede dialogue and repress pro-separation demonstrations.
On Wednesday (25), Puigdemont summoned members of his cabinet in an emergency meeting. The meeting lasted until late, according to Cadena Ser radio. According to the daily newspaper La Vanguardia, the regional executive is divided. In this case, the Catalan leader would give the green light to the Catalan Parliament, dominated by separatists, to vote on independence.
Serious political crisis
Catalonia is experiencing its worst political crisis since the return to democracy in 1977, following a referendum held on October 1st. Now, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy hopes that a majority of Catalans will oppose independence.