Catalonia Calls for Independence Vote

The leader of Catalonia, the northeastern region of Spain, signed a decree on Saturday that goes directly against the Spanish government and calls for an independence vote. The regional leader, Artur Mas, said the vote would show that “Catalonia wants to decide pacifically and democratically its political future…Nobody should fear that somebody expresses his opinion by placing a vote in a ballot box.” Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy has vowed to block the vote and pressure Spain’s constitutional court to rule the secession vote as unconstitutional. The vote is scheduled for November 9.