The government of Catalonia has presented a concrete proposal for a new referendum on independence from Spain.
"A vote is possible, it's just a question of political will," said regional president Pere Aragonès in Barcelona on Tuesday.
A clear question would be put to voters, which could only be answered with a Yes or No, he said: "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state?"
Aragonès said that such a referendum could take place on the basis of Article 92 of the constitution, which allows "political decisions of particular importance" to be put to a referendum. This would have to be called by King Felipe VI at the suggestion of the head of the Spanish government after approval by parliament.
But the proposal was immediately rejected by members of the central government in Madrid. Presidential Minister Félix Bolaños, for example, said he was "absolutely against it."
Government spokesperson Pilar Alegría suggested Aragonès' proposal amounted to political posturing ahead of parliamentary elections in Catalonia on May 12.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had agreed to offer amnesty to those involved in Catalonia's failed 2017 independence bid in order to secure his re-election last autumn with their votes.
However, he continues to rule out an independence referendum.
Aragonès noted that Sánchez had also ruled out an amnesty for a long time, but had then changed his mind. Sánchez's minority government is dependent on the votes of the Catalanistas in parliament.
In addition to Aragonès' Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), other Catalan parties are also pushing for the region to break away from Spain. These include the conservative Junts of Carles Puigdemont, who fled into exile in Belgium in 2017. The 61-year-old recently announced that he would stand as Junts' lead candidate in the regional elections.
Catalonia has long presented problems for the central government in Madrid.
A referendum by Catalonia's regional government on secession from Spain took place on October 1, 2017, but without the blessing of the central government in Madrid. Spanish police in some cases used force to prevent ballots being cast. The Yes vote won, but Spain's Constitutional Court declared the referendum illegal.
Catalonia, a wealthy region of north-eastern Spain, was then temporarily put under direct rule of Madrid. Puigdemont and some of his comrades-in-arms then fled abroad. Other separatists were sentenced to long prison terms, but were pardoned in 2021.
