Spain found itself on the verge of a full-blown sovereign crisis on Saturday, after the "rebel region" of Catalonia rejected giving more control to the central government in defiance of authorities in Madrid who are trying to suppress an independence referendum on Oct. 1.
The Independent reports Spanish police storm Catalan government buildings to stop independence referendum.
As MishTalk's Mike Shedlock details, the Catalan president described the raids as a “co-ordinated police assault” and a “de facto state of emergency”.
Spanish national police have stormed ministries and buildings belonging to Catalonia’s regional government to put a stop to the region’s independence referendum.
Spanish police arrested top-ranking Catalan officials including the region’s junior economy minister Josep Maria Jove, as Madrid launched a crackdown on Catalonia over the upcoming Independence referendum Reuters reported. Jove, who is a senior member of the Republican Left of Catalonia political party, was detained following a Wednesday morning raid carried out by Spain’s Civil Guard, which has the authority of both the Interior and the Defence ministries.
"The only thing I ask of (Catalan) mayors is that they comply with the law, and as such don’t participate in an illegal referendum," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy urged this week, calling for a return to "rationality and legality" and promised to block the vote.
However, as Reuters reports, the mayors are not complying...
More than 700 mayors from across Catalonia gathered in Barcelona on Saturday to confirm their support for a planned independence referendum that Madrid has declared illegal.
Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,
Unless the central government in Madrid forcibly stops elections, the Catalan Independence Vote will take place on October 1.
Politico covers What Spain has to Lose from Catalan Independence.
Catalonia Percent of Spain
Voting Intentions
Poll Source in Spanish: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinió (CEO) June 2017
2015 Advisory Voting Map
Why?