The Spanish government moved to impose direct rule over Catalonia on Friday, stripping the region of its autonomy less than an hour after its parliament declared independence in a stunning show of defiance to Madrid. The motion passed in the parliament after a passionate debate from advocates and opponents of independence said Catalonia constituted an independent, sovereign and social democratic state. Within an hour, the upper house of Spain’s parliament in Madrid authorised Rajoy’s government to rule Catalonia directly — an unprecedented move in Spain since the return of democracy in the late 1970s. In Brussels, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said the independence vote changed nothing and the EU would only deal with the central government. Catalan President Puigdemont and deputies applaud after the Catalan regional Parliament declared independence from Spain on October 27, 2017 | ReutersFiring the government?

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 27, 2017 13:56 UTC