The Spanish government is to start the process of taking direct control over Catalonia after the region’s president, Carles Puigdemont, declined to renounce claims to independence.

在加泰罗尼亚政府主席卡莱斯•普伊格德蒙特(Carles Puigdemont)拒绝放弃该自治区的独立主张后，西班牙政府打算启动直接控制加泰罗尼亚的进程。

Mr Puigdemont on Thursday sent a letter to Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy that not only refused to renounce the region’s claim to be separate from Spain but threatened a formal declaration of independence by the regional parliament.

普伊格德蒙特周四致函西班牙首相马里亚诺•拉霍伊(Mariano Rajoy)，不仅拒绝放弃该地区要与西班牙分离的主张，还威胁由自治区议会正式宣告独立。

In an immediate written response, the Spanish government vowed to push ahead with triggering Article 155 of the constitution, which allows it to take partial or full control of Catalonia’s semi-autonomous powers.

西班牙政府立即作出书面回应，誓言要推动触发宪法第155条，该条允许中央政府部分或全部接手加泰罗尼亚的半自治权力。

In the letter Mr Rajoy said there would be a cabinet meeting on Saturday to decide on which measures would be used to “protect the general interest of Spaniards” in Catalonia and “restore constitutional order”.

拉霍伊在信中表示，周六将举行内阁会议，以决定将在加泰罗尼亚采取哪些措施“保护西班牙人的普遍利益”并“恢复宪政秩序”。

Any measure would need approval from the Senate, the upper house of the Spanish parliament, and therefore would not be fully effective until at least next week.

任何措施都需要经过西班牙议会上院参议院的批准，因此至少要到下周才会全面生效。

Article 155 has never been used in Spain’s 40-year democratic history and its triggering would be a radical response that would increase tension between Madrid and the Catalan government.

在西班牙40年的民主历史上，第155条从未被使用过。触发该条将是一个激进的回应，势必加剧马德里与加泰罗尼亚政府之间的紧张。

Some analysts say Madrid may struggle to enforce some of the measures because of social unrest in Catalonia and it is possible that Catalan officials will simply refuse to obey the orders of the national government.

一些分析人士表示，由于加泰罗尼亚社会不安定，马德里方面在执行某些措施时可能会有难度，而且加泰罗尼亚官员可能会拒绝服从中央政府的命令。

Tensions were inflamed this week after two separatist leaders were held in jail pending an investigation for alleged sedition. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Barcelona to call for their release.

在两名分离主义领导人因涉嫌煽动叛乱被羁押后，本周紧张局势进一步升级。数万抗议者在巴塞罗那集会，呼吁释放他们。

It is not clear what direct rule will look like. One person close to the government in Madrid told the Financial Times that the region was set to be stripped of some powers, leaving scope for pressure to be increased in the future.

尚不清楚直接统治会怎么操作。接近马德里中央政府的一名人士告诉英国《金融时报》，加泰罗尼亚将被剥夺一部分权力，为今后加大压力保留空间。

La Vanguardia, the Catalan newspaper, reported that Madrid planned to appoint delegates to run regional departments. Mr Puigdemont would remain nominally in his role, but stripped of all powers. The Spanish government could also call new Catalan regional elections.

据加泰罗尼亚报纸《先锋报》(La Vanguardia)报道，马德里计划任命代表来执掌该地区的各个政府部门。普伊格德蒙特将在名义上保留原职，但被剥夺所有权力。西班牙政府还可能宣布举行新的加泰罗尼亚地区选举。

Another question is how Mr Puigdemont will respond. Some Spanish media have reported that he is considering declaring independence and then calling constituent elections for the newly declared republic.

另一个问题是普伊格德蒙特将如何回应。一些西班牙媒体报道，他正在考虑宣布独立，然后宣布新成立的共和国举行制宪选举。