Spain Moves to Seize Control of Catalan Government, Call Regional Elections Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy seeks to use measures to quell Catalonia’s push for independence By Jeannette Neumann and Giovanni Legorano

Posted By on October 22nd, 2017

https://www.wsj.com/articles/spain-moves-to-seize-control-of-catalan-government-call-regional-elections-1508587975

BARCELONA—Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy asked lawmakers to grant him unprecedented power to remove the leaders of Catalonia and temporarily control the region from Madrid, a forceful move aimed at bringing the separatist movement to heel.

 Mr. Puigdemont and members of his cabinet appeared several hours later at a pro-independence rally in Barcelona that became a mass protest against the central government’s move.

Afterward, Mr. Puigdemont said in a televised address that he would ask Catalonia’s parliament to convene in the coming week to map out a response to the central government’s proposed measures. “The Catalan institutions and the people of Catalonia can’t accept this attack,” Mr. Puigdemont said. “The government of Mariano Rajoy wants to appoint a board to control the life of Catalonia remotely from Madrid.”

One of the targets of Mr. Rajoy’s proposed measures is Catalonia’s police force, a prized symbol of regional power. The 17,000-strong regional police force, known as the Mossos D’Esquadra, resisted Madrid’s orders to halt the referendum on independence earlier this month. A judge seized the passport of the Mossos chief earlier this week amid a sedition probe. The regional force has said the investigation is based on false accusations.

The central government is also seeking to administer Catalonia’s finances. Madrid already seized control of most of the regional government’s spending power in the run-up to the referendum to prevent Catalan officials from dedicating public funds to the independence vote.

“This is a real coup d’état,” Arnau Casadevall, a 27-year-old school receptionist, said at Saturday’s demonstration, which Barcelona police estimated was attended by 450,000 protesters. “I have no intention to stop fighting until Catalonia is free.”

The measures Mr. Rajoy announced were hammered out in recent days with leaders from two of the main oppositions parties, said the premier, a sign of the widespread political support for his bid to halt the Catalan independence drive. Spain’s Senate, where Mr. Rajoy’s center-right Popular Party has a majority, is likely to approve the measures in a vote on Friday. CONTINUE AT SITE

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