Spain is voting to trigger Article 155 and take control of Catalonia

• Spain's Senate is voting over whether to allow the government to activate Article 155 and take control of Catalonia.
• Mariano Rajoy, the country's prime minister, wants to depose the Catalan president and hold new elections.
• Friday's vote comes a day after Catalan President Carles Puigdemont refused to dissolve parliament.
• The power struggle came to a head after Catalonia voted to secede from Spain in October.

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Spain's prime minister has asked the Senate to approve Article 155, which would allow the government to take control over Catalonia.

The Senate gathered on Friday morning to vote on the emergency measures. It remains unclear which of Catalonia's powers will be suspended if Article 155 is activated.

While the article's language is vague, it allows the government to "take the necessary measures" if an autonomous region "seriously undermines the general interest of Spain." Madrid can, in theory, take control of Catalonia's police and finances, and replace its administration, Reuters reported.

The power struggle between Spain and Catalonia came to a head after 2.2 million Catalonian voted on October 1 to secede from Spain.

In a 33-minute speech on Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy asked that the Senate let him depose Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and replace the regional administration.

The vote came a day after Puigdemont refused to dissolve the regional parliament, as Spain had requested, saying he had not received guarantees from Madrid that it will ditch plans to trigger Article 155.

But Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy piled the blame on Puigdemont, telling the Senate: "The fault is his, and only his. The 155 is not against Catalonia, but to prevent the abuse of Catalonia."

If the Senate gives Rajoy the go-ahead, this would be the first time Spain invokes Article 155 in its constitution's 39-year history. The constitution, which said the country was "indivisible" but respected territorial self-government, gave Catalonia the right to its own language and control over healthcare and education, according to Bloomberg.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said: "It is the first time since 1978 that Article 155 is adopted because the situation is exceptional." He also said the referendum was "the biggest mockery of democracy we have seen since the adoption of the Constitution."

The Catalan parliament is still in session, and could declare independence on Friday, the New York Times reported.

More follows.

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