Spanish government vows to impose military-backed regime in Catalonia
20 October 2017
The Spanish government’s declaration yesterday that it plans to invoke Article 155 of the Spanish constitution tomorrow, suspending Catalan regional autonomy, is a political watershed and an urgent warning to workers not only in Spain, but across Europe and internationally.
In a major Western European country, and with the support of the European Union and Washington, the ruling class is announcing plans for a turn to authoritarian rule. In invoking Article 155, Madrid would be suspending an elected Catalan government for the first time since 1978 and the end of the fascist Spanish regime created by Francisco Franco during the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War. It would then forcibly impose another regional administration, backed by deployments of Spanish police and armored infantry units.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy gave a deadline of yesterday at 10 a.m. for the Catalan regional premier, Carles Puigdemont, to state whether Catalonia had declared independence after the “yes” vote in the October 1 Catalan referendum.
Without explicitly replying “no,” which could lead his own government to collapse, Puigdemont made clear he had not declared independence in his October 10 speech to the Catalan parliament. He appealed for talks with Madrid: “I proposed to suspend the effects of the popular vote. I did this to create favorable conditions for dialogue.” However, he warned, “If the Spanish government persists in blocking dialogue and using repression, the Catalan parliament may, if it is opportune, vote the formal declaration of independence that it did not vote on October 10.”
Rajoy thrust this reply aside, issuing a brief communiqué declaring that Puigdemont had failed to give…