Catalonia’s disputed independence referendum was in chaos on Sunday, with reports of hundreds injured as Spain’s national police launched a widespread crackdown on the vote.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont condemned “indiscriminate aggression” against peaceful voters. Spanish authorities appeared determined to deny the vote legitimacy by preventing as many people as possible from casting ballots in the referendum, which Spain’s top court has declared illegal.
Regional authorities said 337 people were injured after Madrid deployed the national police force to close down polling stations. Catalan emergency services confirmed the number to CNN.
Latest developments
— Barcelona’s deputy mayor said police fired rubber bullets at people as they attempted to vote in the city, the regional capital. There were reports that police in Girona used batons.
— Catalonia’s regional government condemned the police crackdown and compared it to the postwar Franco dictatorship.
— FC Barcelona said a match against a rival that supports the Madrid government would be played behind closed doors.
— Spain’s Interior Ministry said 11 national police officers had been injured in scuffles.
— The Spanish Deputy Prime Minister blamed the violence on the determination of the Catalan authorities to go ahead with the vote, despite it being declared illegal.
— People posted pictures on social media of injuries sustained in clashes with police.
Spain: referendum is ‘blatantly illegal’
The national government is implacably opposed to any breakaway moves by the northeastern region. In a press conference in Madrid Sunday, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría blamed the violence on the “crazy rush” of the Catalan regional government to hold the “unconstitutional” vote.
“The referendum couldn’t be held, and it’s not been held. To carry on with this farce makes no sense, it doesn’t lead anywhere,” she said.
Defending the national police actions, Saenz de Santamaria said their objective had been to seize material associated with the referendum and not to target Catalans.
She called on the Catalan government to halt its “irresponsible behavior” and call off the vote. “Despite the blatant illegality of this, they wanted to continue, using children and old people recklessly.”
Catalan government condemns ‘state violence’
In Girona, where Puigdemont was due to vote, police smashed their way into a polling station by breaking a glass window. Puigdemont cast his ballot in a nearby village.
Catalan authorities said Education Minister Clara Ponsati i Obiols was forcibly removed from her polling station.
Regional government spokesperson Jordi Turull told a press conference in Barcelona two hours after polling began that despite the Spanish government’s efforts, 73% of the polling stations, 4,661 in total, were open.
He accused Madrid of being responsible for “a state violence unknown to Spain since the age of Franco,” referring to the former military dictator Francisco Franco who ruled the country with an iron fist for 36 years until 1975.
Turull added that “the violation of fundamental rights in Catalonia is not an internal problem of Spain, it is an internal problem of the EU, and we Catalans are citizens of the EU.”
When asked by a reporter if it was all worth it, he replied, “Defending democracy will be always worth it.”
In a tweet, the Catalan administration called on the Spanish government representative in the province to resign.
Catalonia’s separatist government has remained adamant that the vote on independence would go ahead. Many schools designated as polling stations were occupied overnight in an attempt to keep them open on referendum day.
Voters defy Madrid to cast ballots
“This moment means a lot to me,” Joana Rauet, 89, told CNN after casting her vote at the Josep Maria Jojol school in Barcelona Sunday. “I feel satisfied that I was able to take part. I’m feeling very happy,” she said. Voters were clapped and hugged by a waiting crowd as they left the school, having cast their ballot. People told CNN they had been told to stay in case the police arrived to shut the voting station down.
“If the police show up, I will stand my ground. I will peacefully resist,” Xan Fernando, 20, a student told CNN.
The dispute between the regional government in Barcelona and the Spanish government has become increasingly bitter in recent weeks, with mass protests held across the region.
In the runup to the vote, national authorities seized ballot papers, voter lists and campaign material, as well as sending thousands of extra national police to the region. High-ranking Catalan officials involved in organizing the referendum were arrested.
In the past few days, authorities blocked the use of a voting location app and seized vote-counting software.
Puigdemont, who called the referendum in June, had urged voters to go to the polls Sunday despite Madrid’s opposition.
The 5.3 million voters on the electoral roll were being asked to respond yes or no to the question: “Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state, in the form of a Republic?”
Polling stations are due to close at 8 p.m. local time on Sunday. Results are expected around 10 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET).
Why is the referendum taking place?
Catalonia, a wealthy region in Spain’s northeast, has its own regional government — or Generalitat — which already has considerable powers over healthcare, education and tax collection.
But Catalan nationalists want more, arguing that they are a separate nation with their own history, culture and language and that they should have increased fiscal independence.
The region pays tax to Madrid, and pro-independence politicians argue that complex mechanisms for redistributing tax revenue are unfair on wealthier areas and result in Catalonian revenues subsidizing other parts of Spain.
Others, including Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, insist that the country cannot be divided.
Catalonia’s campaign to break away has been gaining momentum since 2010, when Spain’s economy plunged during the financial crisis. Catalonia held a symbolic poll in 2014, in which 80% of voters backed complete secession — but only 32% of the electorate turned out.
The Catalan government has not yet made clear how it will respond in the event of a “yes” vote.