抖阴短视频

BARCELONA: Thousands of Catalans gathered at designated polling stations on Sunday morning as they sought to defy Spanish authorities by voting in a banned independence referendum that has raised fears of unrest in the wealthy northeastern region.
The referendum, declared illegal by Spain鈥檚 central government, has thrown the country into its worst constitutional crisis in decades and raised fears of street violence as a test of will between Madrid and Barcelona plays out.
Civil Guard national police also streamed in a convoy through the streets of Barcelona in the early morning, but at dawn there was no sign of either national or Catalan police enforcing a court order to lock down the polling stations.
At some stations, voters blocked doors in anticipation that police could try to enter and take over the sites. At one, a Barcelona school, organizers asked people to use passive resistance if police intervened.
鈥淚 have got up early because my country needs me,鈥� said Eulalia Espinal, a 65-year-old pensioner who started queuing with around 100 others outside one polling station, a Barcelona school, in rain at about 5am.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen but we have to be here,鈥� she said.
Organizers had asked voters to turn out hours before polling stations were supposed to open at 9am, and called for 鈥渕assive鈥� crowds by 730am, hoping for this to be the world鈥檚 first image of voting day.
Leading up to the referendum, Spanish police arrested Catalan officials, seized campaigning leaflets, sealed off many of the 2,300 schools designated as polling stations and occupied the Catalan government鈥檚 communications hub.
But Catalan leaders, backed by pro-independence supporters, have refused to abandon their plans. Families have occupied scores of schools earmarked as voting centers, sleeping overnight in an attempt to prevent police from sealing them off.
If some voting goes ahead, a 鈥測es鈥� result is likely, given that many unionists are not expected to turn out.
鈥淚f I can鈥檛 vote, I want to turn out in the streets and say sincerely that we want to vote,鈥� said independence supporter Jose Miro, a 60-year-old schools inspector.
Only the Catalan police, or Mossos d鈥橢squadra, have so far been monitoring polling stations. They are held in affection by Catalans, especially after they hunted down Islamists accused of staging deadly attacks in the region in August.
Pro-independence Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont originally said that if the 鈥測es鈥� vote won, the Catalan government would declare independence within 48 hours, but regional leaders have since acknowledged Madrid鈥檚 crackdown has undermined the vote.
Markets have reacted cautiously but calmly to the situation so far, though credit rating agency S&P said on Friday that protracted tensions in Catalonia could hurt Spain鈥檚 economic outlook. The region accounts for about a fifth of the economy.
The ballot will have no legal status as it has been blocked by Spain鈥檚 Constitutional Court, and Madrid has the ultimate power under its 1978 charter to suspend the regional government鈥檚 authority to rule if it declares independence.
The Madrid government, which has sent thousands of police to Catalonia to enforce a court ban on the vote, believes it has done enough to prevent any meaningful referendum taking place.
Farmers have used tractors to guard polling stations in 30 Catalan towns, according to Spanish media reports. They included one at a sports center in Sant Julia de Ramis, near Girona, where Puigdemont was scheduled to vote later.
At other polling centers, activists carried away schools鈥� iron gates to make it harder to seal them off.
A minority of around 40 percent of Catalans support independence, polls show, although a majority want to hold a referendum on the issue. The region of 7.5 million people has an economy larger than that of Portugal.