“The force we'll use to stop the referendum is the rule of law”

Madrid.- “The force we'll use to stop the referendum is the rule of law,” announced Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, spokesperson for the Spanish government on Friday. With this statement, Méndez de Vigo answered the Catalan president Carles Puigdemont’s request for Mariano Rajoy to clarify his latest threats regarding the planned independence referendum. The Spanish prime minister had claimed the Spanish government would “use all the force” that it had at its disposal “to stop a referendum in Catalonia”.

According to the Spanish Constitution, article 155 foresees the possibility of a suspension of the autonomy of a Spanish region including the substitution of its local institutions and servants by the central government. However, Vigo did not want to give any details on possible scenarios in the event of a celebration of an independence referendum in Catalonia. He also said he was convinced that Catalan public servants “will follow the Spanish government’s instructions” in the event of such a vote.

In a parliamentary session in the Catalan Parliament on Wednesday, Puigdemont had criticized the “ambiguity” of Rajoy’s latest threats in terms of the celebration of a unilateral independence referendum in Catalonia, and had requested an explanation of “just what kind of force” Rajoy was planning to use in the event that the Catalans put out the ballot boxes. Puigdemont had also cautioned Rajoy that the criminalization of political rivals was a “prelude to totalitarianism”. Furthermore, the Catalan president said that if the Spanish prime minister’s intention was intimidation, these kind of declarations would only “motivate” the Catalan government to execute its plan to hold the referendum. 

The spokesperson of the Spanish government, Méndez Vigo responded to Puigdemont on Friday, making it clear that the Spanish government would use the “rule of law” as its “force” to prevent the celebration of a referendum. On the other hand, when asked about concrete measures the Spanish government would apply, Méndez de Vigo neglected to give any details. In the same line as the Spanish vice president, Soraya Sáenz Santamaría, Méndez Vigo invited Puigdemont to explain his referendum proposal “in the right place”, which is the “Spanish parliament”. The spokesperson for the Spanish government also called on the Catalan citizens to “influence” their president so that he “gives explanations before the Spanish congress”, because that is “where the national sovereignty lies”.

Méndez de Vigo also relied on the often used argument of the Spanish executive, that the Spanish government could not negotiate a proposal with the Catalan president, because “it cannot make agreements on matters that are not within its competencies”. “The only people who can amend article 1 and 2 of the Constitution are the members of the Congress,” he added. However, Vigo said his government “maintains the proposal of dialogue” which “has to always take place within the legal framework”.

Still unknown with respect to the celebration of a unilateral referendum is the role of the Catalan public servants, who will be necessary to guarantee the celebration of such a vote. Méndez de Vigo was not concerned about this issue saying “public servants in Catalonia will obey the law and the orders of the Constitutional court”.