New Developments in Catalonia
Earlier this month, the story regarding the vote for independence in Catalonia, a region of Spain, emerged. Despite major (and sometimes violent) political upheaval, the referendum passed to make Catalonia its own country, led by president Carles Puigdemont. However, since then, many have argued that the vote wasn’t valid. First, only people in Catalonia–not Spain as a whole–were allowed to vote. And second, the Spanish constitution prohibits any separatist movement, meaning that in the eyes of many Spanish citizens and authorities, the vote was meaningless to begin with. Since then, tensions between the two sides have only deepened. Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s prime minister, has said that he will remove the leaders of Catalonia and rule over the region directly. Moreover, he also announced plans to take away many of the powers of the Catalonian parliament, and take control of its local police force and broadcasting system.
But Catalonia has its own distinct language, culture, and traditions, and the people who live there might view this takeover as a threat to their whole way of life. The Catalonian police force is refusing to take sides, saying that they are police officers, not politicians. Spanish police have been denounced worldwide for using violence to try and halt the independence vote on October 1. But Alfonso Dastis, the Spanish foreign minister, has called photos of the violence fake news and denied that it ever took place. For now, the pro-independence movement is expected to respond with peaceful protests.
Olivia Wall- It seems like there are many problems in Spain, and it is important to retain the culture and way of life although fighting for independence.
ReplyDeleteThe lengths that Spain is going to to silence the nation is astonishing. They are going to prohibit freedom of press and speech, it sounds like they are becoming tyrants over their people, much like Britain did.
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