AP, Barcelona :
Catalonia is expected to pass a law Wednesday laying the groundwork for an independence referendum on October 1 which is fiercely opposed by Madrid, setting a course for Spain’s deepest political crisis in decades.
The looming showdown comes three weeks after jihadist attacks in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, and a nearby seaside resort that killed 16 people and wounded more than 120 others.
A man stood near the Catalan parliament on Wednesday morning holding a large sign in English, French and German reading “Freedom for Catalonia”.
Nearby another small group of men held another sign against the referendum which accused it of being an attempt to “cheat democracy”, an expression used by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday to dismiss the planned plebiscite.
Inside the parliament pro-separatist lawmakers, who control the regional assembly in the wealthy northeastern region, are expected to pass the bill, ignoring a ruling by Spain’s Constitutional Court that deemed the vote unconstitutional.
Catalonia is expected to pass a law Wednesday laying the groundwork for an independence referendum on October 1 which is fiercely opposed by Madrid, setting a course for Spain’s deepest political crisis in decades.
The looming showdown comes three weeks after jihadist attacks in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, and a nearby seaside resort that killed 16 people and wounded more than 120 others.
A man stood near the Catalan parliament on Wednesday morning holding a large sign in English, French and German reading “Freedom for Catalonia”.
Nearby another small group of men held another sign against the referendum which accused it of being an attempt to “cheat democracy”, an expression used by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday to dismiss the planned plebiscite.
Inside the parliament pro-separatist lawmakers, who control the regional assembly in the wealthy northeastern region, are expected to pass the bill, ignoring a ruling by Spain’s Constitutional Court that deemed the vote unconstitutional.
