Madrid rejects Catalan plans for referendum

Spain’s central government has rejected new plans by the region of Catalonia to hold an independence referendum.

“With Prime Minister (Pedro) Sánchez, there will be no referendum on self-determination in Catalonia,” Finance Minister María Jesús Montero told journalists in Madrid on Wednesday. The Catalan government of Prime Minister Pere Aragonès must abide by the constitution, she stressed.

Aragonès announced in Barcelona on Tuesday that a proposal “to solve the fundamental Catalan problem” would be drawn up in consultation with various sectors of society, to be presented to Madrid by early 2024 at the latest. The goal is a referendum like the one in Québec, Canada – where the ‘no’ won narrowly in 1995. “No one is satisfied with the deadlock in Catalonia, the conflict continues,” Aragonès said.

The project was criticized not only in Madrid, but also by pro-independence supporters in Catalonia – albeit for reasons other than those stated by the central government. Unlike Aragonès’ left-wing ERC party, other separatists, such as the liberal-conservative JuntsXCat, want to achieve independence for the economically strong region of northeastern Spain without Madrid agreeing to a referendum.

Following an illegal independence referendum and a subsequent decision to secede from Spain in late 2017, Catalonia was placed under guardianship by the central government. The then regional president, Carles Puigdemont, fled abroad with other members of the government and now lives in Belgium. Those who remained in the country were sentenced to prison terms of up to 13 years, but have since been pardoned. (saw/sda/dpa)