Constitutional crisis in Spain (2017)

For a long time, the local authorities of Catalonia periodically came into confrontation with the authorities of Spain, demanding to expand the autonomy of Catalonia. In particular, in 2014 in Catalonia, a survey was conducted on the political future of Catalonia .

On September 6, the Parliament of Catalonia approved the “Law on the Referendum on Self-Determination of Catalonia”, which provides for the holding of a referendum on independence on October 1, 2017 ^[2] .

On September 8, 2017, the Parliament of Catalonia adopted the Law on the Legal Transition and Establishment of the Republic ( Cat. Llei de transitorietat jurídica i fundacional de la República ), which contains provisions on legal procedures that can be carried out to obtain Catalonia the status of an independent state in the event if the idea of ​​independence will be supported by the inhabitants of Catalonia in a referendum ^[3] .

On October 1, 2017, a referendum on independence was held in Catalonia, during which 90.18% of the voters supported the separation from Spain ^[4] . On October 10, a speech was scheduled for the head of autonomy, Carles Puigdemon , at which independence was supposed to be declared ^{[5] [6] [7]} . However, contrary to expectations, during the appeal he postponed the declaration of independence and called for negotiations ^[8] , which caused mixed moods in society ^[9] . Late in the evening, after the appeal, Puchdemon still signed the " declaration of the People's Representatives of Catalonia ", which envisaged the creation of an independent Catalan Republic ^[10] . Then it was decided to suspend the declaration in order to establish a dialogue with the Spanish government in order to reach certain agreements and try to solve the problem ^[11] . Madrid , in turn, demanded that the leadership of Catalonia give a concrete answer until October 16 : whether the independence of the region was proclaimed, or whether signing the declaration is a symbolic act ^[12] . Carles Puigdemon evaded a direct answer to this question and again called for dialogue ^[13] . On October 21, at a meeting of the Government of Spain, it was decided to dissolve the Government of Catalonia and hold early elections in the region, which should be approved by the Senate; also considered the introduction of direct control in Catalonia and the suspension of its autonomous status ^[14] . The final decision was to be taken by the Spanish Parliament on October 27 . In Catalonia, they reacted sharply to the actions of Madrid; the head of the region called these actions the worst attack on democracy since dictator Francisco Franco ^[15] . At the same time, the Spanish edition of El Confidencial reported that supposedly on October 23 , Catalonia was likely to declare independence ^[16] . Another newspaper, La Rason, said independence would most likely be proclaimed on October 27. ^[17] On October 23, a meeting of the generals of Catalonia in full force was scheduled for the 26th ^[18] . On October 27, the creation of an independent Catalan Republic was finally announced.

On October 27, 2017, the Spanish authorities took advantage of 155 articles of the Constitution of Spain and introduced direct control in Catalonia, having dissolved the government of Catalonia. The latter refused to acknowledge its dissolution and continued to work ^[1] .

On October 30, the Parliament of Catalonia recognized the Spanish government’s decision to dissolve it and ceased work before the early elections ^[19] .

• Zheltov M. V. “Puigdemoniada” or another great missed chance of Catalonia (neopr.) . InterIzbirkom. World Election Analytical Portal (January 30, 2018). Date of treatment January 30, 2018.