Will Catalonia Declare Independence After Spain Moves to Impose Direct Rule, Oust Catalan Leaders?

Spain is plunged into a political crisis as the Spanish government moves to impose direct rule over Catalonia, following the region's independence referendum. On Saturday, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced the move, stripping the northeastern region of its autonomy in an effort to crush Catalonia's independence movement. Following an emergency Cabinet meeting on Saturday, Rajoy said he will invoke Article 155 of the Constitution, which has never been used in Spain's modern democratic history. The speaker of the Catalan Parliament has called Spain's move to seize political control of the region a "de facto coup d'i(C)tat." Puigdemont said that Catalonia's Parliament will meet in the coming days, amid speculation he might unilaterally declare Catalan independence. For more, we speak with Dominic Thomas, professor at University of California, Los Angeles, who specializes in European politics.