Timeline
1 October 2017
The movement reached its peak crisis on , when the Generalitat under Carles Puigdemont staged an independence referendum that Spain's Constitutional Court ha…
27 October 2017
On , the Catalan Parliament declared independence, prompting the Spanish government under Mariano Rajoy to invoke Article 155 of the Constitution for the fir…
Positions at a glance
Supporters
Several Catalan leaders, including Oriol Junqueras, were convicted of sedition and misuse of public funds in 2019 by the Spanish Supreme Court and later pardoned by the Pedro Sánchez government in 2021. Puigdemont fled to Belgium and remained the subject of European Arrest Warrant proceedings. In 2024, the Spanish Congress passed a controversial Amnesty Law covering acts linked to the procés, in exchange for parliamentary support from Junts and ERC.
Opponents
Mass demonstrations organized annually on La Diada (11 September) by groups such as the Assemblea Nacional Catalana (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural became a fixture from 2012 onward. A non-binding consultation was held in November 2014 under regional president Artur Mas, despite opposition from Madrid. The movement reached its peak crisis on 1 October 2017, when the Generalitat under Carles Puigdemont staged an independence referendum that Spain's Constitutional Court had suspended; the vote was marked by police violence against voters. On 27 October 2017, the Catalan Parliament declared independence, prompting the Spanish government under Mariano Rajoy to invoke Article 155 of the Constitution for the first time, suspending Catalan autonomy and calling new regional elections.
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In October 2017, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont declared independence following the disputed 1 October referendum, prompting Madrid to invoke Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution.
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