CATALONIA - Catalan leader says Spain cannot block independence vote: report - chicagotribune.com

Catalan leader says Spain cannot block independence vote: report - chicagotribune.com

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain cannot block a non-binding vote on Catalan
independence that could become the basis for negotiations on Catalonia's
future, the president of the northeastern region said in an interview
published on Sunday.

"If I call a consultation, not
to declare the independence of Catalonia nor to break with the Spanish
state, but to know the opinion of the citizens of this country, a
knee-jerk anti-democratic response from Spain would be pretty bad and
disgraceful in the view of the entire world," Artur Mas told La
Vanguardia, Catalonia's leading newspaper.








Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has
pledged to go to the Constitutional Tribunal to block any Catalan
attempts to hold a referendum, arguing sovereignty is a matter for all
of Spain to decide, but Mas said there was another possible approach.


"It is what I call the solution tolerated by the central
government. They let us hold the consultation, they don't get involved,
and afterwards we go to Madrid to negotiate," he said.


Over the past three years the independence movement in Catalonia has
gained force, with roughly half of Catalans saying they want
independence from Spain and a much bigger majority saying they should
have the right to decide.

Catalonia, which has its
own language, has significant self-governing powers. But economic
doldrums, public spending cuts and perceptions of unfair taxes and the
concentration of power in Madrid have fed breakaway fever.