Just hours before she was due to attend a rally in the Catalan capital organised by pro-independence groups, Ada Colau fired a broadside against Puigdemont's "irresponsible" drive, which has plunged Spain into political crisis.
![33 passengers and one crew member died on the dive boat, Conception [Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/AP]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'100'%20height%3D'100'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "33 passengers and one crew member died on the dive boat, Conception [Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/AP]")
"They've provoked tensions and carried out a unilateral independence declaration which the majority do not want," Colau told a meeting of her party members.
"They've tricked the population for their own interests."
Catalan lawmakers voted on October 27 to declare independence after a banned referendum returned an overwhelming "yes" on splitting from Spain.
But the region itself is deeply divided on the issue, and opponents of independence say the October 1 referendum, which Spain's Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional, had been boycotted by those against secession.
Colau herself is anti-independence but has gone on record as saying she supports a free and official referendum on the issue.
Pro-independence groups have called for mass protests in Barcelona on Saturday against the jailing of several former Catalan officials, who were sacked by the central government after declaring independence.
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