MADRID (AP) – Catalan lawmakers are voting on a bill that will allow regional authorities to officially call an Oct. 1 referendum on a split from Spain, making concrete a years-long defiance of central authorities, who see the vote as illegal.
The so-called “referendum bill” was included at the last minute in the agenda of Wednesday’s plenary meeting of the regional parliament, and is likely to be passed by a pro-independence majority later in the day, paving the way to formalize plans for the ballot.
The pro-independence coalition ruling Catalonia, where a strong Catalan identity is built around its own language and traditions, says the bill will legitimize a binding vote on breaking away from Spain based on the right to self-determination.
The Spanish government, however, considers that the referendum violates the country’s constitution because only the central authorities can make such call. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has vowed to use all legal measures at hand to ensure it doesn’t take place.
Rajoy is trying to strike a delicate balance between offsetting the secessionist defiance and staying away from the most dramatic measures – such as suspending Catalonia’s autonomous powers or declaring a state of emergency that would bring the army into the mix – that would further inflame anti-Spanish sentiment.