<p>MADRID — The parliament of Catalonia elected a new regional leader and government Friday, with the incoming administration vowing no let-up in the Catalan fight for independence from Spain.</p>
<p>Three Catalan separatist parties set aside their local policy differences and united behind their common desire for secession, voting for Pere Aragonès as the next chief in Catalonia, a region of 7.5 million that has Barcelona as its capital.</p>
<p>Aragonès, a 38-year-old lawyer who has been involved in Catalan politics for almost 20 years, studied at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and has previously held posts in the regional government.</p>
<p>A regional election was held in February but squabbling between separatist parties, which together captured more than half of the vote, delayed the formation of a government. They had disagreed on the best way to push for secession — a longstanding bone of contention among the separatists.</p>
<p>The new government’s goals include self-determination for Catalonia, a referendum on independence and an amnesty for the separatist leaders prosecuted after an outlawed independence ballot and doomed independence declaration more than three years ago.</p>
<p>Roughly 50% of Catalans want to carve out an independent state, while the other half want to remain a part of Spain.</p>
