Thousands of people gathered in central Madrid on Saturday in anger at Catalonia's unilateral declaration of independence under secessionist leader Carles Puigdemont.
Photo from video
Unhappy with Catalonia's secession bid, many also directed anger at Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whom they accuse of having been too soft on the region's separatist leaders.
"It is a disgrace what happened in Catalonia, and it's a disgrace what happened after," said Carlos Fernandez, a 41-year-old mining engineer.
On Friday, the Catalan parliament declared unilateral independence.
Rajoy replied by axing Puigdemont and his executive, dissolving parliament, and calling snap December 21 regional elections to quash what he termed an "escalation of disobedience."
"Nothing is going to change in two months," said Fernandez of Rajoy's intervention, "it's just prolonging the problem."
Spanish prosecutors have announced they will next week file charges of "rebellion" against Puigdemont - a crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
