https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo...sionist-takes-office-and-a-standoff-continues
A supporter of Catalan secession has become the new leader of the restive region in Spain, in a ceremony that didn't mention any loyalty to the Spanish constitution or the Spanish king.
Spain dissolved the regional government after ousting separatist regional President Carles Puigdemont and other leaders. Madrid had direct control of the region for months.
Now, Quim Torra's swearing-in brings an end to that era — but signals that there's no end in sight to the larger separatist fight.
Catalonia has its own language and culture, and has long sought autonomy from the rest of Spain. It's Spain's richest region, and when the country's economic crisis hit a decade ago, many Catalans began to resent their tax money subsidizing poorer parts of Spain. Separatist politics moved from the fringe to the mainstream.
A supporter of Catalan secession has become the new leader of the restive region in Spain, in a ceremony that didn't mention any loyalty to the Spanish constitution or the Spanish king.
Spain dissolved the regional government after ousting separatist regional President Carles Puigdemont and other leaders. Madrid had direct control of the region for months.
Now, Quim Torra's swearing-in brings an end to that era — but signals that there's no end in sight to the larger separatist fight.
Catalonia has its own language and culture, and has long sought autonomy from the rest of Spain. It's Spain's richest region, and when the country's economic crisis hit a decade ago, many Catalans began to resent their tax money subsidizing poorer parts of Spain. Separatist politics moved from the fringe to the mainstream.