Spanish parties clash over Catalonia in election debate

Spanish parties clashed over how to handle the Catalan independence crisis on Monday night in the only televised debate before heading to the polls in the upcoming election on November 10.

Spain’s acting president Pedro Sánchez, who came to power thanks to pro-independence parties, promised to include unauthorized referendums as a criminal offence. He also promised to get exiled president Puigdemont into a Spanish prison, but he didn’t  explain how he would do it.

Catalonia held an independence referendum in 2017 despite Spain’s opposition, which carried lengthy prison sentences for the politicians and activists behind the vote.