Catalonia's Independence Referendum

Weeks after the October 1 independence vote, the Catalan parliament has declared secession from Spain. Madrid has met the decision with hostility, with Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vowing to "restore legality" in Catalonia. According to a local activist interviewed by Sputnik, the regional parliament's decision was the only way forward.

As tensions over Catalonia's independence referendum remain high, the Spanish government is about to decide whether Madrid will enact Article 155 of the country's constitution to switch to the direct rule of the autonomous region.

The Catalan government has reacted to the Spanish decision to hold a snap election in the region amid uncertainty over the independence bid.

International credit rating agency S&P says a prolonged crisis of Catalonian independence could potentially complicate both Catalonia’s and Spain’s fiscal situation. This would affect the latter’s near-term credit rating prospects, whilst the former would face enormous uncertainty.

The actions by police during the Catalan referendum that was deemed illegal by the Spanish authorities have been strongly criticized.

A hacktivist group dubbed Anonymous has targeted Spanish institutions for the second time this week.

A group of Spanish lawyers have filed a lawsuit against Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont in the Supreme Court of Catalonia, citing abuse of power, disobedience to the court and mutiny appeals as his main "crimes."

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Saturday that Madrid had decided to enact Article 155 that allows the central government to seize autonomous power of Catalonia.

Catalonia's independence bid has thrown Spain into a political crisis and the divisions within the country continue to deepen as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy aims to remove Catalan leaders and impose direct rule on the region.

Spanish King Felipe VI claimed that the country was confronted with an "unacceptable" attempt of secession as Catalonia constituted an integral part of Spain.

Earlier in the day, Catalonia's leader stated that the Catalan parliament could proceed to declare independence if Spain's authorities refused to talk. This Thursday was the deadline given by Madrid to the Catalan leader to announce the status of the region.

Catalonia's president has confirmed in a letter to Spain's prime minister that the suspension of the region's declaration of independence remains in force for the time being.

The Catalans have taken to the streets of Barcelona to express solidarity with Jordi Sanchez, president of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), and Jordi Cuixart, the leader of Omnium Cultural, who were jailed yesterday in Madrid amid accusations of sedition.

Provisional President of Argentina's Senate Federico Pinedo believes the European Union's refusal to recognize Catalonia as an independent is very important and may help to solve the issue of Spain's unity.

If Catalonia breaks free from Spain, it will have to pay a hefty price for this, political analyst Roberto Duran, a professor at the Catholic University of Chile, told Sputnik.

A member of a Belgian right-wing party, in an interview to Sputnik, commented on the EU's reaction towards the actions taken by the Spanish government during the referendum on Catalan independence, remarking how quickly it's 'lofty principles' are forgotten when one of its own regimes is under threat.

On October 11, Madrid asked Catalonia to explain whether it had declared independence. It could be perceived as the government's attempt to start negotiations amid the critical situation, Mexican expert Luis Huacuja told Sputnik Mundo.

A powerful presence in Catalan history and former president of the region, Lluis Companys has declared a Catalan state in 1934, but the nation only lasted 10 hours. With the current developments in Spain, following the Catalan referendum, we take a closer look at the former leader and his complex fate.

The Spanish government has given Catalan President Carles Puigdemont five days to clarify whether he actually declared the region's independence or not in his speech devoted to the highly controversial referendum.

The Spanish prime minister has said while delivering a speech on Catalonia's independence referendum that the vote has failed and added that the promise of independence was a "fairy tale."