Will Catalonia Declare Independence After Spain Moves to Impose Direct Rule, Oust Catalan Leaders?

https://democracynow.org - Spain is plunged into a political crisis as the Spanish government moves to impose direct rule over Catalonia, following the region’s independence referendum. On Saturday, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced the move, stripping the northeastern region of its autonomy in an effort to crush Catalonia’s independence movement. Following an emergency Cabinet meeting on Saturday, Rajoy said he will invoke Article 155 of the Constitution, which has never been used in Spain’s modern democratic history. Carles Puigdemont, speaker of the Catalan Parliament, has called Spain’s move to seize political control of the region a “de facto coup d’état.” Puigdemont said that Catalonia’s Parliament will meet in the coming days, amid speculation he might unilaterally declare Catalan independence. For more, we speak with Dominic Thomas, professor at University of California, Los Angeles, who specializes in European politics. Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: https://democracynow.org Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today: https://democracynow.org/donate FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE: Facebook:   / democracynow   Twitter:   / democracynow   YouTube:    / democracynow   SoundCloud:   / democracynow   Daily Email: https://democracynow.org/subscribe Google+: https://plus.google.com/+DemocracyNow Instagram:   / democracynow   Tumblr:   / democracynow   Pinterest:   / democracynow   iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/demo... TuneIn: http://tunein.com/radio/Democracy-Now... Stitcher Radio: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/democ...