Catalonia crisis: Spanish prime minister wants region's leaders removed
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Story highlights "Catalonia cannot accept this attack," Catalonia's president says The region's succession could have dire economic effects for Spain Barcelona, Spain (CNN) The Spanish government aggressively moved to squash Catalonia's growing independence movement Saturday when Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced plans to dissolve the regional government, remove elected leaders as soon as possible and hold new elections. As nearly half a million people protested in Barcelona, Catalonia's biggest city, Catalan president Carles Puigdemont denounced Rajoy's decision and said, "The Catalan institutions and the people of Catalonia cannot accept this attack." He called for the regional parliament to discuss "the attempt to liquidate our self-government and our democracy, and act accordingly," but Puigdemont stopped short of ...