Catalonia's regional parliament voted Monday to start the process of formally seceding from Spain, launching a plan to be completely autonomous by 2017.
After a two-hour debate, the proposal to begin a "democratic disconnection" passed the Barcelona-based regional assembly in a vote of 72 to 63, reported the Guardian.
"The Catalan parliament will adopt the necessary measures to start this democratic process of massive, sustained and peaceful disconnection from the Spanish state," the resolution said in Catalan, according to Reuters.
The resolution asks lawmakers to start working on legislation within 30 days to establish a separate treasury and social security system, with hopes of securing complete independence from Spain as early as 2017.
The vote was proposed by Catalan pro-independence lawmakers from the "Together for Yes" group and the left-wing Popular Unity Candidacy, who together won the local parliamentary election in September.
"There is a growing cry for Catalonia to not merely be a country, but to be a state with everything that entails," Raul Romeva, head of pro-secession group Together for Yes, said before the vote, reports RT. "Today we don't only open a new parliament, this marks a before and after."
Spain's conservative central government reacted quickly, with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy saying in a nationally televised address that his government will ask the Constitutional Court to declare the resolution void, as it has done in past attempts for independence, according to The Associated Press.
Rajoy has previously said that independence referendums and other secessionist efforts are unconstitutional and illegal, and the Spanish government has previously blocked official referendums similar to the one held in Scotland last year.
"I understand the anxiety that many Catalans can feel, but to all of them I say you can rest easy," Rajoy said. "Catalonia isn't separating from anywhere, nor will there be any rupture."
The court is expected to accept the government's appeal, meaning the secession resolution would be suspended until judges hear arguments and make a final decision.
However, the secession document says that the Catalan parliament will not recognize a decision by the Spanish Constitutional Court to block its secession, claiming the court lack legitimacy.
"The content of the resolution will be applied regardless of what the constitutional court says. We have strength and legitimacy, even if the Spanish states resists," said Pere Aragones, an assembly member with Together for Yes, according to the Guardian.
Polls show that a majority of the 7.5 million Catalans favor a referendum on independence but are divided on whether to actually secede, according to the BBC.
