The head of Spain’s northeastern autonomous community of Catalonia, Artur Mas, on Saturday signed a decree calling an independence referendum for Nov. 9, although the national government in Madrid vowed to challenge the planned vote before the Constitutional Court.
The nationalist CiU coalition, which governs Catalonia, had promised during regional elections in 2012 to formally call an independence referendum. It is supported in that push by other pro-secession parties and grassroots organizations.
Mas said Saturday in signing the decree in a solemn ceremony at the regional government’s headquarters in Barcelona that it marks a “before and after” for Catalonia, but at the same time he said he is willing to negotiate the conditions of the plebiscite with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s administration.
Minutes afterward, however, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said in a public appearance that she “deeply” regretted the decree calling for the independence vote and said it “won’t be held because it’s unconstitutional.”
