Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona on Sunday to urge that Catalonia remain part of Spain, adding to pressure on the Catalan regional government as it considers whether to declare independence as early as this week.
The demonstrations came after Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s prime minister, reiterated his threat to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy if the region secedes, a sign Madrid has no intention of backing down from a potential conflict with the pro-independence Catalan government.
The anti-secession marches in the Catalan capital and the tough talk from Mr Rajoy highlight the choices facing Carles Puigdemont, president of Catalonia, as he considers a unilateral declaration of independence that would deepen Spain’s constitutional and political crisis.