Catalonia’s regional President and the leader of the Independence Carles Puigdemont has declined to renounce the region’s claims to Independence this morning in a letter sent to Prime Minister of Spain Mariano Rajoy. Instead, he threatened that is pressured by Madrid, he would formally declare Independence. However, he has called for dialogues between Catalonia and Madrid without any pre-conditions like giving up Independence bid.
The spotlight is now on the Madrid government, which has taken a hard stance towards the region’s independence and warned that it would invoke Article 155 of the Spanish constitution to strip the powers of Catalonia’s regional government and strip the region of its autonomy. The provision has not been used before and would require the approval of the parliament, which might not happen until early next week. However, the Spanish government has responded immediately to the release of the letter saying, “The Spanish government will continue with the procedures outlined in article 155 of the Constitution to restore legality in Catalonia's self-government."
The Spanish government has already been criticized internationally over its brutal crackdown on Catalan voters on the day of the Independence that left around 900 people including women and old injured. The gridlock threatens not only Spain but the entire European Union.
