The increasing demands of secessionist Catalan movements for independence, the unforeseen arrival of the far-right party VOX, and the recent overthrow of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and his brief replacement by Pedro Sanchez from the socialist Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), are factors contributing to the current unprecedented political instability in Spain.
Within Catalonia itself a struggle is taking place between its main political actors regarding its relation to the rest of Spain.
Beyond pro-independence and radical nationalist parties, other actors and political parties are heavily conditioned by the independence debate, an issue that is overshadowing any other in the region.
