October 21, 2017

BARCELONA — In a bold stroke to quash a popular secessionist movement in restive Catalonia, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vowed Saturday to remove the region’s leaders, assert control over the upstart government and press for a fresh round of elections within months.

The sweeping declaration by the central government to invoke unprecedented powers upon an autonomous region — and push aside its elected leaders — surprised Barcelona, where many people were expecting more incremental steps from Madrid.

The announcement came after an emergency cabinet meeting Saturday, when government ministers emerged with a get-tough response to the Catalan independence referendum three weeks ago, which Spain’s Constitutional Court had declared illegal.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/spain-ready-to-take-control-of-catalonia-to-stop-secession/2017/10/21/3f37306e-b358-11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_catalonia-525am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.54494bed202c