Can anyone explain me how exactly has Spain being oppressing Catalonia all these years? I just don't get it.

Their response so far has been to do nothing, oh, and fly to Brussels to "tell the world" and "ask Europe to react"; which it did, saying it's Spanish internal affair, a country they consider a democracy.

Which is what they've been doing for the past seven years.

Just for two months, after the elections you'll get it back. Spain does not tolerate national plurality; that's why there are four official languages (the common one you know as "Spanish", and three more coofficial in their own regions, Catalan among them). But yeah, we hate national plurality...

Same here: it's not "their" police force; it's the Catalan's police force. Those who rule Catalonia have to command the police force, yes.

Control the Catalan public television, since it's part of the Catalan government whose function they are exerting until the elections in two months.

There are concerns and reports on the history books produced after 35 years of nationalist self-rule (and devolved education) differ somehow in their depiction of the history of Spain.

Despots exerting their constitutional powers. Aside from that, the courts still work and are open to everyone. Tyranny indeed!

Such a big dissociation that there are elections in two months.

Is he talking about the police during the referendum or about the suspension of the autonomy?

Yes, the Spanish tribunals are curious about those people whom they told what they were doing was likely illegal and rather serious, and yet went ahead and did it.

How exactly has that happened? The suspension of self-rule in Catalonia is no state of exception; all Catalans enjoy the same civil liberties and rights as before under the Spanish Constitution.

Now, if someone keeps asking for seven years for the same thing you told them you cannot give them; and they don't come up with anything creative or political alliances or majorities, or alternative proposals other than the very same thing; AND they go ahead an do it; would you really say you have rejected dialogue?

For two months, we don't want to be greedy here.

In the next days we are going to act as if nothing had happened in the last two months, and prepare to take part in those regional elections called by the central government after we gave them enough grounds to suspend Catalan autonomy for the first time since it was restored in 1979.

A road where, Catalans are asking?

A referendum disowned by every international institution specialized in monitoring elections. But more importantly, one where only 43% if the census took part. So, a poll without guarantees taken among pro-independence Catalans is enough ground for declaring The Catalan Repulic. Very democratic.

This is a very interesting one: this guy's party has accepted to take part in the elections called by the central government. Also, Puigdemont has agreed to accept their results. Are these the "free elections" he's talking about? Are these people their leaders for the next two months then? I know, it sounds less epic put this way.

The "strike" so far has consisted in dismissing the Catalan government and taking over their self-ruling, and call for a snap election in Catalonia in two months to replace it. Behold the state machinery striking at millions of citizens!!

How exactly? They've been saying for seven years they would organize a referendum and declare independence eventually.

To my knowledge there were no far-right groups acting on the day of the "referendum". There's been a few incidents during demonstrations against independence, including the stoning of the entrance of the Catalan public TV. But it's not definitively as systematic (rather anecdotical, though a contrast with the image of non-violence pro-independence demonstrators have managed to project) and ominous as he paints it.

Because the Spanish government had been saying all THESE SEVEN YEARS that they couldn't vote. So, hey, let's go an vote on our own and against their wishes ONE MORE TIME (yes, they did vote in 2014, though they framed it as a "consultive poll", and the Spanish government let that one fly).

That was simply stupid and did reveal some unsettling tendencies running deep in the political culture of the PP, the party in power in Madrid. Let it be said though, that the police was acting under the orders of the Catalan Supreme Court in Barcelona.

This is kind of a non sequitur.

The Spanish government has always answered the same when presented with the same question: you can't organize a referendum on secession; think of something else.

The Constitutional Court, as you can see has been obsessed with suspending EVERY single thing the Catalan government did. Those cases he quotes are rather questionable, and usually what the court struck down was a different part of the legal initiative. In some cases, the core of the law was left untouched. But nationalism like BIG SIMPLE facts.

Yes, the Spanish government loves sabotaging a region producing 19% of the country's GDP. They can't get enough of it, how do you think Spain has managed to achieve such high unemployment rates? By sabotaging Catalonia, of course. It's a national sport.

The central government frame it as "facilitating" in response to a genuine concern over legal security. Big firms like knowing in what country they'll be the following month. SO far, 1,700 companies have left Catalonia since October 1st.

Actually, the problem is the rest of Spain has been enduring complete indifference to the Catalan government on the part of Madrid's government.

After 7 years of their own regional government hammering with this all day. No matter it was unconstitutional, nor that the Constitution can be changed. They had to do it their own way, forcing Madrid to do as they wanted.

Not really, they have one of the highest degrees of self-government in Europe (dare say, the world), and they are overrepresented in the national parliament, where Catalan parties been instrumental to the formation of national governments.

Such a priority, that after proclaiming the republic they all went away for the weekend.