In the Catalan language, the region is known as Catalunya. Catalonia became an “autonomous community” of the modern Spanish state, which was declared in 1931, although recent years have shown that autonomy has definite limits. If Catalan leaders defy the Spanish state in coming days and proclaim independence, Article 155 of the Spanish constitution gives the central government the authority to take over the region administratively. As the crisis deepened, Spain’s King Felipe VI took the rare step of addressing the nation Tuesday night to decry what he called the “disloyalty” of Catalan leaders. But the Spanish state controls many essential government functions and institutions, including defense, the central bank, national taxation, customs and border formalities, even air traffic control.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 05, 2017 10:01 UTC