Catalonia declared its independence today. Secession was approved by only 70 of the 135 legislators, with the pro-Spanish parties walking out of the chamber after arguing passionately against the move.Lawmakers from three national parties - the People’s Party, the Socialists and Ciudadanos - walked out before the vote. Members of the pro-independence parties and the far-left Podemos then voted 70-10 in favor...and used a secret ballot aimed at impeding any attempt by Madrid to file criminal charges on them.
I've reported previously what the press isn't...that there's a lot more to this than meets the eye, and Muslim migration into Catalonia is a factor.
At any event, the deed is done, and Spanish PM Rajoy is going to have to take control of the situation. The Spanish parliament is almost certain to approve of using Article 55 of the Spanish Constitution to restore central control over Catalonia. Rajoy has already dismissed the members of Catalonia's regional government, including Catalan First Minister Carles Puigdemont, who could face years of prison for what he just did.
Catalonian separatists are already enforcing a kind of civil rebellion, demanding that civil servants in Catalonia refuse to cooperate with their counterparts in Spain. And even though many Catalonians want to remain part of Spain, there are enough hotheads to spark real violence as Spain attempts to restore order.
Rajoy really has two choices. He can send in the paramilitary state police, the Guardia into Catalonia to take control and simply take the fallout as he did when they went sent in to stop the illegal referendum. Or he can try and find some reasonable actors to deal with and perhaps discuss new elections and changes that could be made.
I personally doubt the second choice is a viable option, but we'll see.
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