Catalan leader faces heat as deadline looms
Barcelona, Oct. 13: Catalan president Carles Puigdemont came under mounting pressure on Friday as the radical faction of his separatist alliance pressed him to declare independence just as his region starts to suffer from the economic fallout of the crisis.
Spain’s central government has given mr Puigdemont until next Thursday to abandon his push for secession, failing which it may trigger unprecedented constitutional steps that could see Madrid take control of the semi- autonomous region.
Such a move would anger independence supporters in the northeastern region and could cause tensions to boil over into unrest.
But any decision by Mr Puigdemont to back down would also infuriate hundreds of thousands of Catalans who voted to break away from Spain in a banned referendum.
On the other hand, Catalonia is deeply divided over independence, and those who want to stay in Spain are increasingly making their voices heard, having staged two mass rallies in just five days.
On Friday, the far- left CUP party, an ally of Puigdemont’s coalition government, warned in an open letter that “only by proclaiming a republic will we be able to respect what the majority expressed in the polls.”
The referendum took place on October 1 despite a court ban that ruled it unconstitutional, and regional authorities say 90 percent chose to split from Spain in a vote marred by police violence.