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           Catalonia Lawmakers to Vote on Renewed Independence Effort

   by VOA News

   Lawmakers in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region are launching a
   renewed effort Monday to seek independence.

   The Together for Yes coalition and leftist CUP party, which together
   control 72 of the regional body's 135 seats, have put forth a proposal
   to begin an 18-month process toward secession. Catalonian lawmakers are
   due to vote on the measure Monday.

   Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy promised last month to use "all
   political and legal means" to stop an independence push, including
   taking the matter to the country's Constitutional Court.  He called
   desires for Catalonia to break away "an act of provocation."

   Catalonia is an autonomous region of 7.5 million people that accounts
   for about 20 percent of Spain's economic output.

   The independence movement there is more than a century old, but gained
   momentum several years ago with Spain's economic crisis.  A year ago,
   the region held a referendum on independence that the government
   dismissed as invalid.  About 80 percent of those who voted supported
   independence.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/catalonia-lawmakers-to-vote-on-renewe
   d-independence-effort/3049626.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/catalonia-lawmakers-to-vote-on-renewed-independence-effort/3049626.html