As a Republic Struggles to Be Born, Barcelona Holds Its Breath<br />We don’t know exactly how the Spanish government will react." Mar Sanfeliu, a 51-year-old economist, had a fair idea — and one<br />that made her fearful, even as she smiled about the declaration of the new republic.<br />"It’s a mixed feeling." There were a few crucibles of emotion, in particular inside the Catalan Parliament, where the independence decision was made —<br />and in the street outside, where a few thousand independence supporters gathered in expectation of a celebration.<br />It was a reminder, Ms. Zaragoza suggested, of the authoritarian measures that the Spanish government had said it would take to crush the new republic.<br />For Mr. Segura, the mixed reaction was also because of the acknowledgment, even among separatists, that many Catalans still do not want independence.<br />Sanfeliu said that will do whatever it can
