BARCELONA: Catalonia’s leader said Thursday he would not call elections to ease a standoff with Madrid over an independence push, leaving it up to the regional parliament to respond to the central government’s planned seizure of Catalan powers.
Carles Puigdemont said in a televised statement it had been his “duty” to find a negotiated solution to the crisis “to avoid the impact on our institutions of the implementation of Article 155.”
He was referring to a never-before-used article in the constitution designed to rein in rebel regions, under which Madrid plans to take over Catalan political power and finances in a bid to stop the region’s breaking away after an outlawed independence referendum.
Many had considered early elections — instead of a unilateral declaration of independence — as a way to avoid these drastic measures taking effect and ease the crisis that has pitted Catalonia’s separatist leaders against the central government.
But Puigdemont said there were no “guarantees” in place “to justify calling elections today.”
He added that it was now “up to the (regional) parliament,” which is expected to meet later Thursday, to decide how to respond to the central government’s planned takeover.
Separatist lawmakers hold an absolute majority in the Catalan parliament, and many favor a declaration of independence.
Speaking just after Puigdemont, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria retorted that with the power seizure, the central government wanted “to open a new stage in which the law is respected.”
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Catalan leader says won’t call elections to ease separatist crisis
Catalan leader says won’t call elections to ease separatist crisis
Interoceanic Train derails in southern Mexico, killing at least 13 and injuring dozens
- he Interoceanic Train linking the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz went off the rails Sunday as it passed a curve near the town of Nizanda
- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says 13 people died and another 98 people were injured when a train derailed
MEXICO CITY: Officials said a train accident in southern Mexico killed at least 13 people and injured dozens, halting traffic along a rail line connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico.
The Interoceanic Train linking the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz went off the rails Sunday as it passed a curve near the town of Nizanda.
“The Mexican Navy has informed me that, tragically, 13 people died in the Interoceanic Train accident,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum posted on X, adding that 98 people are injured, five of them seriously.
She said she instructed the secretary of the navy and the undersecretary of human rights of the Ministry of the Interior to travel to the site and personally assist the families.
In a message on X Sunday, Oaxaca state Gov. Salomon Jara said several government agencies had reached the site of the accident to assist the injured.
Officials said that 241 passengers and nine crew members were on the train when the accident occurred.
The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 by then President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The rail service is part of a broader push to boost train travel in southern Mexico, and develop infrastructure along the isthmus of Tehuantepec, a narrow stretch of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mexican government plans to turn the isthmus into a strategic corridor for international trade, with ports and rail lines that can connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Interoceanic train currently runs from the port of Salina Cruz on the Pacific Ocean to Coatzacoalcos, covering a distance of approximately 180 miles (290 kilometers).
The Interoceanic Train linking the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz went off the rails Sunday as it passed a curve near the town of Nizanda.
“The Mexican Navy has informed me that, tragically, 13 people died in the Interoceanic Train accident,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum posted on X, adding that 98 people are injured, five of them seriously.
She said she instructed the secretary of the navy and the undersecretary of human rights of the Ministry of the Interior to travel to the site and personally assist the families.
In a message on X Sunday, Oaxaca state Gov. Salomon Jara said several government agencies had reached the site of the accident to assist the injured.
Officials said that 241 passengers and nine crew members were on the train when the accident occurred.
The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 by then President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The rail service is part of a broader push to boost train travel in southern Mexico, and develop infrastructure along the isthmus of Tehuantepec, a narrow stretch of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mexican government plans to turn the isthmus into a strategic corridor for international trade, with ports and rail lines that can connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Interoceanic train currently runs from the port of Salina Cruz on the Pacific Ocean to Coatzacoalcos, covering a distance of approximately 180 miles (290 kilometers).
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