Spanish government challenges Catalan referendum in the Constitutional Court

The machinery of the Spanish state is already working to stop the Catalan government from holding an independence vote on October 1. The Spanish government has challenged the legal framework for the vote in the Constitutional Court, claiming it is illegal and calling for it to be suspended.

“What is not legal is not democratic,” claimed Spanish president, Mariano Rajoy, after holding a cabinet meeting on Thursday. “Therefore, the main responsibility of my government, and of any government in the world under any circumstance, is to ensure compliance with the law.”