Catalonia Threatens Spain with “Financial Bloodbath”

Catalonia’s independence would set off Spain’s debt time-bomb. By Don Quijones, Spain & Mexico, editor at WOLF STREET. On Monday El Pais published leaked excerpts from what it claims to be the Catalonian regional government’s road map to independence. The secret document includes a plan for the region to unilaterally break away from Spain should its citizens be prevented from holding a referendum on independence in the fall. It provoked a fierce backlash from Madrid. “This proposal is an unacceptable attempt to blackmail the state,” Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in a hastily convened press conference. Spain’s defense minister María Dolores de Cospedal likened the plot to a coup d’état. In the meantime, Madrid continues to refuse to even entertain the idea of allowing a referendum on Catalan independence, despite the fact that in just about every survey of the last few years 80% of Catalans, including many unionists, have requested one. REED more:http://wolfstreet.com/2017/05/24/catalonia-independence-threatens-spain-bond-default-banks/