Independence leader faces growing pressure

BARCELONA, Spain — Catalonia’s leader faced mounting pressure Friday from all sides, with hardliners in the separatist movement demanding he definitively declare independence from Spain. Spain’s government and the European Union, on the other hand, insisted he must abandon the region’s secession plans.

Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria blamed Catalan President Carles Puigdemont for sinking tourist numbers and for creating such economic uncertainty that a recession could be in the cards. She also said that Spain’s government is considering lowering the growth forecast for the Spanish economy in 2018 if the standoff in Catalonia continues.

“It’s in Puigdemont’s hands” to avoid the extraordinary measures that would allow central authorities a partial or full suspension of the prosperous region’s autonomy, she said.

The central government has given Puigdemont a Monday deadline to make clear whether he has already declared independence for the region and to fall in line with Spain’s laws by Oct. 19 if he wants to avoid losing some or all of the region’s autonomous powers.

For Spain, Puigdemont simply has to say one of two words in his response.

“It’s just a yes or a no,” Saenz de Santamaria told reporters after a weekly Cabinet meeting.

In addition to pressure from Spain, two key allies of Puigdemont’s government called on him to ignore the Spanish government’s threats and press ahead with proclaiming a new republic.

On Tuesday, Puigdemont told regional lawmakers in a speech that Catalonia was proceeding with a declaration of independence from a mandate provided by a disputed referendum held Oct. 1.

But he immediately suspended its implementation for a few weeks to allow for the possibility of negotiations with Spain.

The move disappointed some of the hard-liners in the secessionist camp.

Spain considers the referendum to be illegal and unconstitutional, and says its results are invalid. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has rejected any possibility of dialogue unless Puigdemont returns “to legality” and takes independence off the table.