Barcelona- Carles Puigdemont, elected new president of Catalonia, appealed on Jan.10 to initiate the process of breaking away from Spain. Puigdemont addressed the Catalan Parliament with the need to embark on establishing an independent government in Catalonia, so that all parliamentary decisions are sovereign.

“We begin an extremely important process, unparalleled in our recent history, to create the Catalonia that we want, to collectively build a new country”, Puigdemont told the Catalan parliament.

Puigdemont’s words came after parliamentary lawmakers elected him successor to former President Artur Mas, and the vote was to be attested later Sunday evening.

In a last minute move, former President Artur Mas caved into the pressure he was subjected to by critics, and stepped down from running for a new term. This last minute move opened up the chance to form a national unity government comprised of both conservatives and left-wing anti-capitalists.

The rapid demand for independence in Catalonia coincides with the legislative Dec.20 elections in Spain that resulted in a fractured parliament, in which conservatives, led by former Prime Minister of Spain Mariano Rajoy, lost absolute majority, and are now left looking for partners to establish a coalition.

The conservative newspaper “El Español” published online, that the Convergence and Union demanding Catalan independence is taking advantage of the void in Madrid.

Moreover, under the separatists’ 18-month “roadmap,” Catalan authorities will approve their own constitution and begin building institutions necessary for an independent state such as army, central bank and judicial system.

However, Reuters reported Rajoy’s declaration on Sunday, that he would block any unilateral move from the new Catalan government and had instructed all government officials to enforce the law.

Archive photo of a march calling for independence- Asharq al-Awsat