Tens of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of Barcelona on Sunday asking for Spain to remain united.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Saturday he would not rule out using the constitutional powers or article 155 to remove Catalonia’s autonomous status if it claimed independence.
The wealthy northeastern region of Catalonia held a referendum on October one on independence, in defiance of the Spanish constitutional court which had ruled the vote illegal.
Article 155, the so-called nuclear option of the constitution, enables the central government to sack the regional government and call for a fresh local election.
