The Catalan parliament has voted in favor of declaring independence from Spain. Madrid, in turn, has voted to impose direct rule on the region.
The Spanish Senate approved invoking Article 155 of the constitution, thus suspending Catalonia’s status as an autonomy. The move came right after the Catalonian Parliament had voted to declare independence: out of 135 lawmakers, only 82 participated in a secret ballot, with seventy supporting independence and 10 opposing it.
On October 1, some 90 percent of voters cast their ballots in support of sovereignty during Catalonia’s independence referendum. Spain’s government has refused to recognize the Catalan’s will.