Spain: Taking control of Catalonia means big power transfer (Report)

BARCELONA, Spain –  Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy left the nation breathless when he announced the steps he wants to use to crush the separatist movement in the prosperous Catalonia region.

Rajoy called on Spain’s Senate to trigger a previously untapped section of the Spain Constitution that allows the central government to temporarily intervene in the running of a region if its leaders have broken the law.

Activating the constitutional authority granted by Article 155 is Madrid’s boldest response so far to avowals from Catalonia’s leaders to declare independence based on an Oct. 1 referendum that a court has judged as illegal.

There are some of the regional powers Rajoy is seeking by triggering Article 155:

DEPOSE LEADERS

First and foremost, Rajoy wants to remove the members of Catalonia’s pro-independence regional government. Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, vice president Oriol Junqueras, and the 12 regional ministers claim Catalonia is sovereign and not subject to Spanish law.

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