It's a critical week of brinkmanship.
The Catalan leadership was left to plot its next move following Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's declaration of unprecedented measures to reassert his authority.
The rebels in Barcelona are running out of options while Madrid attempts to bring an end to the country's most dramatic political crisis for four decades.
The showdown may come at the end of the week.
Puigdemont, who accused Rajoy of a "coup d'etat," is set to be ousted by the Spanish Government and his allies are signalling he could declare independence.
The legislature in Barcelona, which is controlled by separatist parties, will convene on Friday just as Rajoy is expected to win approval from the Senate for his crackdown.
Puigdemont may travel to Madrid to address the Senate, a Catalan lawmaker said today.
Rajoy shocked many observers with plans to clear out the entire separatist Administration in Barcelona and take control of key institutions including public media and the regional police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra.
Spain's chief prosecutor said that if Puigdemont declares independence he would face as much as 30 years in jail and signalled that he could be arrested immediately.
The constitutional battle is wounding the economy, prompted companies to decamp from the region and is dividing the nation. With Spain's Upper House set to give its seal of approval to Rajoy's strategy by the end of this week, the focus is shifting to the mechanics of how Madrid can take charge of Catalonia's institutions in the face of secessionist resistance.
"Catalan government officials and many within the Mossos and Catalan media are not just going to stand down without a fight," said Caroline Gray, a lecturer in politics and Spanish at Aston University in the UK who specialises in nationalist movements. "The big question for me, really, is how Madrid is actually going to implement its proposed actions in Catalonia."
Rajoy is wielding the untested powers of Article 155 of Spain's 1978 Constitution to try to impose central Government control on Catalonia. The aim ultimately is to trigger regional elections within six months.
Spain will seek to apply the clause gradually, but will act against people with the Administration who obstruct it, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told Onda Cero radio today.
She said the Senate could still "adapt" its decision on allowing Rajoy to enforce Article 155 if Puigdemont denies he's declaring independence.
The separatists have shown they can rally support. A crowd estimated by local police at around 450,000 joined Puigdemont to protest in central Barcelona after Rajoy announced his plans. CUP, a pro-secessionist party, today called for mass civil disobedience in Catalonia, Ara newspaper reported.
- Bloomberg
