MADRID—Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Barcelona on Tuesday in a quest to restore momentum to their bid to secede from Spain, a sign of the intractable political clash that confronts the recently appointed Spanish prime minister.
Demonstrators stretched along several miles of Barcelona’s main avenue shouted “independence!” in a show of strength to mark an annual event celebrating the culture and history of Spain’s Catalonia region. They were also a multitudinous reminder for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez that many Catalans haven’t abandoned their goal of eventual independence, despite a failed attempt to secede from the rest of Spain last autumn.
Joaquim “Quim” Torra, the regional president and a hard-line separatist, said the regional government will honor the results of an unauthorized independence referendum held last year, when a majority of Catalans who cast their ballots voted in favor of secession. Millions of other Catalans boycotted the illegal vote. “Our government has committed to make the republic a reality,” Mr. Torra said in a televised address in Barcelona on Monday the eve of the celebration.
Mr. Torra hasn’t provided details on how to overcome the Spanish central government’s steadfast opposition to make Catalonia an independent republic. Instead, he’s called on pro-independence supporters to fill the streets to mark the coming anniversaries of the Oct. 1 illegal referendum and the subsequent independence declaration. Madrid responded to last autumn’s declaration by ousting Mr. Torra’s predecessor and other Catalan leaders and seizing temporary control of the region.
Since the center-left Mr. Sánchez became prime minister in June, he has tried to reduce tensions with Catalan separatist leaders. The premier has met with Mr. Torra, pledging more dialogue and floating the possibility that Catalans could vote on more autonomy within Spain.
Catalonia, an engine of Spain’s economy and home to 7.5 million people, already controls its own police force and oversees its schools and health care system.
Despite the shift in tone by Mr. Sánchez, the standoff between Spain and its most restless region continues. Mr. Sánchez insists he will not authorize a referendum on Catalan independence and has signaled that national authorities would respond to any unauthorized referendum by again seizing temporary control of the regional government.
“What are the pillars of the Spanish government’s policy toward Catalonia? [Upholding the] law and dialogue,” Mr. Sánchez told lawmakers on Tuesday in Madrid.
A majority of Spaniards agrees with Mr. Sánchez’s firm stance against secession. Only one in 10 Spaniards support granting Catalonia and Spain’s 16 regions the possibility to become independent, according to a survey in July by Spain’s Center for Sociological Research, a figure that has held steady in recent years.
In Catalonia, voters are much more divided. Forty percent of Catalans want Catalonia to be an independent country, according to a poll conducted in June and July by the region’s survey agency. About one-quarter of those surveyed support Catalonia’s current status as an autonomous region, while 22% want more autonomy within a more decentralized Spain, which would make Catalonia somewhat akin to a U.S. state.
Some separatist leaders, who think they still lack enough popular support for full independence, are aiming to build majority support for secession over time. Mr. Torra and other hard-liners, however, want to raise the pressure on Madrid to grant an independence referendum as soon as possible.
Faced with such divisions, separatists have focused more in recent months on what unites them: Their anger at the jail time their nine fellow separatist leaders are serving while they await trial. Spanish prosecutors have charged the ringleaders of last autumn’s unauthorized referendum and subsequent declaration of independence with rebellion against the Spanish state. Their trial is expected later this year. Other separatists, including former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, fled Spain for other European countries to avoid arrest in what they say is a politicized justice system.
Separatists have called on Mr. Sánchez to release their colleagues but the prime minister has insisted he has no control over the trial. Separatists have been papering Catalonia’s fences, benches, traffic posts and bridges with yellow ribbons to show support for jailed and exiled colleagues.
The yellow ribbons are controversial with many Catalans who want to stay part of Spain. Some Catalan opponents of secession have been snipping the ribbons away, triggering arguments in the streets.
Write to Jeannette Neumann at jeannette.neumann@wsj.com
