Metro, roads disrupted in Catalonia pro-independence protest

The stoppages, in response to a call for a general strike by pro-independence groups and trade unions, affected the public sector, public transport and basic services.

The atmosphere in Catalonia has been feverish since the Spanish government sent in police on Sunday to stop an independence referendum that had been banned by Spanish authorities, injuring hundreds of people as they tried to vote.

Results showed voters overwhelmingly backed independence in the ballot, which opponents of secession mostly boycotted.

The referendum has plunged Spain into its worst constitutional crisis in decades.

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has said the vote was valid, raising the prospect that the Catalan parliament could unilaterally declare independence from Spain within days. Puigdemont has also called for international mediation in the region’s dispute with Madrid.

Catalonia, Spain’s wealthiest region, wedged in the northeast on the Mediterranean coast below the mountainous border with France, has its own language and culture, and a growing minority there has nurtured hopes of independence for years. Madrid says the constitution prohibits secession and can only be changed if all Spaniards, not just Catalans, agree.

Catalonia is a center of industry and tourism accounting for a fifth of Spain’s economy. Although it has extensive autonomy, its tax revenues are crucial to Spain’s state budget.

Spanish stocks remained under pressure and the cost of insuring exposure to Spanish sovereign debt rose to a near five-month high, with many economists and investors anticipating an escalation of tensions in the short term.

Thousands of people took part in marches and protests in Barcelona, the regional capital, on Tuesday.