Catalonia’s president has hailed a “new stage” in the quest for regional self-determination after a vote by MPs backing the Spanish government’s deeply divisive amnesty law, and vowed to continue pushing for a mutually agreed referendum if he wins another term in May’s snap election.
Pere Aragonès, who has led the regional government for the past three years, told the Guardian that the amnesty – demanded by Catalan separatist parties in return for helping Spain’s Socialist-led coalition back into power after last year’s election – had validated his decision to pursue political negotiations with the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez.
