Spain moves to take over Catalonia

Spain’s government on Thursday said it would hold a special Cabinet session this weekend to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy after the region failed to keep a Thursday deadline to abandon its calls for independence. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont in a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy threatened to declare independence if the Spanish government refused to negotiate. The government responded with a statement saying it would hold an emergency meeting Saturday to approve a measure “to restore constitutional order in the autonomous community.” The session will seek to employ Article 155 of Spain’s 1978 constitution, which allows central authorities to take control of any of the country’s 17 semiautonomous regions. Spain has never enforced the law, and doing so will require the approval of the the country’s Senate. Catalans voted in favor of independence in a disputed election on Oct. 1. Spain’s Association of Commercial Registers said more than 700 companies have already moved their registered addresses out of the region out of concern for its legal status. Civil groups in the region called for new protests outside the central government’s office in Barcelona.