Spain is taking steps to suspend all or part of Catalonia's regional powers as Catalan leaders refuse to back down on demands for independence, escalating the country's worst political crisis in decades.
Here is a look at the positions of the two leading adversaries in this crisis: Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont.
- MARIANO RAJOY -
The 62-year-old leader of the conservative Popular Party (PP) has served as Spain's prime minister since December 2011.
With a reputation as a political survivor, Rajoy is known for his strategy of playing for time to wear down his foes.
He began a second term in office last November after allowing the left to tear itself apart during 10 months in which Spain remained without a government following inconclusive elections.
He now heads a minority government backed by centrists Ciudadanos, who were founded in Catalonia as an anti-independence party.
The premier's detractors accuse him of failing to stop separatist sentiment from surging in Catalonia. Some say he even encouraged it after his party successfully pushed for a partial annulment of a 2006 statute of Catalan autonomy.
That statute, negotiated with the then ruling Socialists, had given the region expanded powers and described Catalonia as a "nation" within Spain.
Many Catalans viewed the episode as a humiliation.
Rajoy argues he could not give his approval to an independence referendum in the region because it violates Spain's constitution which declares the country indivisible.
On Thursday, his conservative government said it would press ahead with suspending Catalonia's autonomy as Puigdemont refuses to back down on independence -- a move that could spark unrest.
- CARLES PUIGDEMONT -
The 54-year-old conservative president of Catalonia, a former journalist, has advocated for independence since his youth.
The former mayor of Girona became head of the regional government in January 2016, replacing fellow conservative Artur Mas who was mistrusted by far-left separatists.
Puigdemont is under pressure from hardcore separatists to declare independence in defiance of the central government.
The separatist leadership says voters who took part in a banned secession referendum on October 1 overwhelmingly backed breaking away from Spain.
But turnout was just 43 percent as Catalans in favour of remaining a part of Spain mostly boycotted the ballot, which did not meet international standards.
Puigdemont has said he is willing to go to jail over his separatist push.
He is under investigation for alleged civil disobedience, abuse of office and misuse of public funds for staging the plebiscite.
On Thursday, he warned in a letter to Rajoy that he would declare unilateral independence "if the central government persists in preventing dialogue and continuing repression."
