The government of Catalonia has presented a concrete proposal for a new referendum on independence from Spain. "A vote is possible, it's just a question of political will," said regional president Pere Aragonès in Barcelona on Tuesday. A clear question would be put to voters, which could only be answered with a Yes or No, he said: "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state?" Aragonès said that such a referendum could take place on the basis of Article 92 of the constitution, which all
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Barcelona on Thursday in an effort to show that his pledge to push through an amnesty for Catalonia’s separatists was paying dividends with the leaders of the politically restive region. After meeting with Catalan regional president, Pere Aragonès, in the medieval palace housing Catalonia’s government, the two emerged with a handful of deals that Sánchez said would “affect the daily lives of Catalans.” Sánchez has been harshly criticized by Spain’s conservative opposition for his decision to grant an amnesty that, once it is passed by Parliament next year, would sweep away the legal troubles of potentially hundreds of people involved in Catalonia’s unsuccessful 2017 independence bid.