Tens of Thousands March as Crisis Escalates in Catalonia

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Earlier this month, clashes between voters and Spanish national police erupted as Catalans went to the polls to vote for independence from Spain.

This weekend, the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced that he would evoke article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, which implements direct rule over Catalonia and takes steps to replace Catalonia’s democratically elected government in the wake of the vote, which Spain's highest court deemed unconstitutional.   

An estimated half million people protested in the streets after the announcement. Catalonia’s President Carles Puigdemont is calling the move the worst attack on Catalonia since General Franco’s dictatorship, which ended with his death in 1975.  

Becquer Seguin, an assistant professor of Iberian studies at Johns Hopkins University, looks ahead to what may happen next. 

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.