Separatists have won a majority in Catalonia's regional parliament – raising the controversial prospect of a declaration of independence from Spain.
The main secessionist group Junts pel Si (Together for Yes) won 62 seats of the 135-member assembly in the country's north-eastern region over the week, while the radical left pro-independence Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) party won another ten seats.
However, both groups jointly won 47.33 per cent of the regional vote – falling short of the majority they would have needed in a proper independence referendum.
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Madrid-based newspapers seized on this, pointing out that most voters backed parties opposed to independence. Spain's leading newspaper El Pais' front-page headline yesterday read: "The independents win the election but lose the referendum."
Nonetheless Artur Mas, the Catalan president, claimed victory on Sunday telling cheering crowds at a rally in Barcelona that the independence camp had the "strength and legitimacy" to push ahead with a plan to separate from Spain over the next 18 months.
The breakaway strategy, described by the Financial Times as the "creation of what will, in effect, be a state within a state", is expected to start by establishing a Catalan foreign ministry, tax authority and central bank over the course of the new legislature.
However, any attempt to break away from Spain is likely to encounter steep opposition by Spain's central government in Madrid, which has already vowed to fight it in court, arguing that independence of Catalonia is in breach of the Spanish constitution, which does not allow regions to unilaterally decide on sovereignty.
Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy recently told broadcaster Onda Cero: "We would go to the constitutional court. And that's the way it is. Full stop." The Guardian reports: "Catalonia could retaliate by walking away from its share of the public debt, accounting for roughly a third of Spain's total debt."
Many Catalans who are in favour of breaking away from Spain say their region, which represents nearly a fifth of Spain's economic output, pays too much in taxes and receives less than its fair share of government investment. Sentiment towards independence grew during Spain's near economic meltdown during the financial crisis.
Jordi Perez, a 50-year-old civil servant told the Associated Foreign Press that he voted for Together for Yes because he feels Spain has historically disparaged Catalan culture and the region's language.
"I have wanted independence ever since I was young," Perez said after voting in Barcelona. "During three centuries they have robbed us of our culture. We have reached the moment that the Catalan people say 'enough is enough'."
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