BARCELONA —
The Spanish Senate gave the central government in Madrid unprecedented
powers over Catalonia on Friday, just minutes after the breakaway region
declared independence, sharply escalating a constitutional crisis in
the center of western Europe.
The two
votes — one for independence, one to restore constitutional rule — came
in dueling sessions of parliaments in Barcelona and Madrid.
The
central government easily won permission to take over control of
Catalonia. Meanwhile, secessionists in Catalonia faced bitter
recriminations from Catalan foes who called the move for nationhood a
coup and a historical blunder, a month after a referendum that backed a
split from Spain.
The widening impasse
has left little middle ground in Spain for possible compromises and has
spilled over to the European Union, whose leaders fear another internal crisis after major upheavals such as Britain’s exit from the bloc and the financial meltdown in Greece.
Immediately after the vote for independence, European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted:
“For EU nothing changes. Spain remains our only interlocutor. I hope
the Spanish government favours force of argument, not argument of
force.”
People
react in Barcelona while the Catalan regional parliament votes for
independence of Catalonia from Spain. (Yves Herman/Reuters)
Tusk’s
remark mirrors fears in Catalonia that the Spanish government will
employ police and harsh tactics to take back control of the region.
After
the day’s votes, the State Department made clear where Washington
stands: “Catalonia is an integral part of Spain, and the United States
supports the Spanish government’s constitutional measures to keep Spain
strong and united.”
What happens now is
unclear, though the newly declared republic will struggle to assert
itself. Spain’s Constitutional Court will almost certainly declare it
illegal, the central government will try to take over the Catalan
regional ministries, and few countries in Europe have shown any
willingness so far to recognize an independent Catalonia.
The
final ballot was 70 to 10 in favor of the declaration of independence
in the Catalan Parliament, where 55 deputies declined to vote, showing
the deep divisions.
“We have won the freedom to build a new country,” Catalonia’s regional vice president, Oriol Junqueras, tweeted.
After
the Senate invoked the never-before-used Article 155 of Spain’s 1978
constitution, the central government could move swiftly to remove the
Catalan regional president, suspend his ministers and assume authority
over the region’s public media, police and finances.
Prime
Minister Mariano Rajoy told the Senate that his government had
repeatedly tried to rein in the secessionists in Catalonia. He scoffed
at Catalan President Carles Puigdemont’s repeated offers of “dialogue”
to end the impasse.
“The word dialogue
is a lovely word. It creates good feelings,” Rajoy said. “But dialogue
has two enemies: those who abuse, ignore and forget the laws, and those
who only want to listen to themselves, who do not want to understand the
other party.”
Rajoy urged the Senate to approve Article 155 “to prevent Catalonia from being abused.”
“Catalans
must be protected from an intolerant minority that is awarding itself
ownership of Catalonia, and is trying to subject all Catalans to the
yoke of its own doctrine,” the prime minister said.
In
Barcelona, shouts of “Independence!” and “Democracy!” rose from an
antechamber where hundreds of onlookers, including dozens of regional
mayors, had gathered.
The eruption was
answered by disdain from anti-secessionists in the chamber. A member of
the Catalan Socialist Party, Daniel Fernández, asked: “What is this? The
storming of the Bastille?”
Pablo
Iglesias, the leader of the left-wing national party Podemos, who
defended Catalonia’s right to vote, added his voice to those criticizing
Catalonia’s separatists.
“We are against
the declaration of independence, not just because it is illegal, but
because it is illegitimate,” he said. The Oct. 1 referendum was
important “but doesn’t give them the right to declare independence,”
Iglesias told journalists.
As
for the invocation of Article 155, Iglesias said its coming
implementation “will break one of the pillars of our living together.”
Carlos
Carrizosa of the Citizens party decried the prospect of a declaration
of independence, comparing it to a coup. He pointed at Puigdemont and
said: “You, president, have been pro-independence your whole life. This
whole plan was already laid out.”
“This
movement is textbook populism, full of magical thinking, that reality
has destroyed. You are willing to sacrifice all, for your pure
fanaticism,” said Alejandro Fernández, a Catalan lawmaker whose Popular
Party is also running the central government.
On
Thursday, facing a looming deadline to act, Puigdemont appeared in the
government palace in Barcelona and denounced what he described as
heavy-handed negotiation tactics by the central government in Madrid.
“I
have considered the possibility of calling elections,” Puigdemont said.
But he ruled it out because “there are not enough guarantees” from the
central government not to seize control of the region. He ultimately
left the decision to the regional parliament.
Puigdemont reportedly sought a promise from Rajoy that the Spanish Senate would not vote on Article 155.
More
than 2 million people cast ballots earlier this month for independence,
though the turnout for the referendum was around 40 percent of eligible
voters.
During the vote, Spanish
national police and Guardia Civil paramilitary officers used harsh
tactics, in some cases beating voters with rubber batons and dragging
people away from the ballot boxes.
The
president of Spain’s Basque region, Inigo Urkullu, a key intermediary
between Rajoy and Puigdemont, told journalists that the situation is
Catalonia “was very worrying” and required “responsibility” on the part
of the two sides.”
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