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Article snippet: BARCELONA, Spain — On the first afternoon of what separatists have called the new Catalan republic, Daniel Castillo, 65, went for a walk with his daughter’s Chihuahua. Arnau Roca, 18, met with friends at a mall. Jordi Costa, 57, picked up some photographs he took on a recent vacation to Russia. All three voted to secede from Spain in a referendum on Oct. 1. And yet when the declaration of independence finally came, at around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, the news did not spark in them the same kind of untrammeled euphoria that accompanied, say, the recent push for Kurdish independence in Iraq. Across Barcelona on Friday afternoon, there were pockets of intense joy, as pro-independence supporters cheered on the decision. Most of the city, however, felt oddly flat. “The new republic will last only a few hours,” said a decidedly phlegmatic Mr. Costa, as he walked home from the photo shop with his partner. “It’s a mixed feeling.” There were a few crucibles of emotion, in particular inside the Catalan Parliament, where the independence decision was made — and in the street outside, where a few thousand independence supporters gathered in expectation of a celebration. During an acrimonious debate inside the parliamentary chamber, lawmakers bickered publicly on the backbenches as their colleagues made speeches. Pro-Spain lawmakers then left the room after making a final standing protest, during which one loyalist lawmaker also accused the separatists of being “cowards” for using... Link to the full article to read more