The vote -- the latest in a series of actions pushing self-determination -- comes during a tumultuous period in Catalan and Spanish politics, in the midst of Spain's deep economic crisis, which some analysts say is what has brought the long-simmering independence issue to the forefront.

CNN: Catalan parliament declaration pushes self-determination

On his release he moved to Spain, but Venezuelan politics could not entirely get rid of him: his former party, the Civic Crusade, could command 10% of the vote in parliamentary elections.

ECONOMIST: Marcos Perez Jimenez

The problem for Mariano Rajoy is that this scandal chimes with a widely held perception amongst people in Spain, that politics can often be dirty, because of the number of corruption cases investigated in the past and present.

BBC: Q&A: Spain's opposition tells PM to go