MADRID — The leader of Catalonia, the region that accounts for one-fifth of Spain’s economy, told Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy during a meeting on Wednesday that he would go ahead with a vote on independence in November that the central government in Madrid has vowed to block.
The meeting, in Madrid, was the first between Mr. Rajoy and Artur Mas, the head of the Catalan regional government, since Catalonia’s governing coalition agreed in December on the timing and format of an independence vote.
For that reason alone, the meeting was considered something of a breakthrough. But afterward, Mr. Mas told reporters that his secessionist plans remained on track and that there was “no proposal on the part of the state to resolve this political conflict.”
Supporters of an independent Catalonia gathered at a soccer stadium in Barcelona last year.
Credit
Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press
