Amnesty for Catalans who divided Spain

Thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona to say “no” to Pedro’s proposed amnesty law Sánchez Towards the Catalan independents. This must be the price the socialist leader must pay to win support for his government from the hardline wing of Catalans led by Carles Puigdemont. Leaders of the center-right People’s Party and the far-right Vox took to the streets but avoided meeting in crowds. The bill, described as a “coup” by its opponents, Sánchez In addition to opposition from the opposition, it will also have to overcome scrutiny from the constitutional court, which could reject the proposal as it did in 2021.

Independence “blackmail”.

Catalonia’s 2017 secession attempt continues to mark the streets of Barcelona, ​​where thousands gathered to oppose Prime Minister Pedro’s amnesty proposal Sánchez. Demonstrators wave Spanish flags, call for imprisonment for Puigdemont, and denounce both amnesty and the feared “right to self-determination.” Alberto Núñez Feijóo (leader of the Popular Partido) and Santiago Abascal of Vox, who failed to gain a majority in the Spanish parliament after the July elections, marched in separate sections. Junts Per Catalunya (JxCat), the centre-right separatist party led by Puigdemont, and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia, ERC) made clear demands in support of the government led by the socialists of the PSOE: amnesty, a law of self-determination in Catalonia and a referendum. Sánchez He has reviewed a legislative request that could satisfy both and plans to submit it by November.

Those who oppose the amnesty law

In the square, a call was made to protesters opposing it by Societat Civil Catalana (Scc), an organization opposing the separatist movement in Catalonia. Among those who took to the streets was Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP), the controversial president of the Madrid region who may soon compete for the leadership of the Popular Party in Feijóo. The PP also included the presidents of Andalusia, Aragon and Murcia, Juan Manuel Moreno, Jorge Azcón and Fernando López Miras, and the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida. Even without the banners, it’s a compact piece. “He wants the presidency of the government, not an amnesty aimed at reconciliation,” the People’s Party leader said. “He is not looking for coexistence, for seven votes (of JxCat MPs, ed). This is a logical regression and a reactionary decision,” Feijóo complained during his speech.

The banners of the far-right party Vox, which experienced a sharp slowdown in the last national elections, are even harsher. Alongside the slogans “No to amnesty. No to Sánchez’s coup,” we also read slogans such as “Amnesty is not justice.” Former president Carles Puigdemont was seen behind bars wearing a poster with the Vox logo, El Pais reported. According to the journalist of the Iberian newspaper, the cries calling for prison “no longer find a hostile echo, they remain indifferent.

Sánchez’s “generosity”.

The Socialist leader said last week that “generosity” was needed to end the political wounds between Madrid and Catalonia. If amnesty is the most popular hypothesis, the acceptability of a new independence referendum is ruled out. Meanwhile, Sumar, a synthesis of various left-wing parties, announced that on Tuesday, October 10, it will present the conclusions of a group of experts on how the amnesty law can be integrated into the Spanish Constitution. Its leader, Yolanda Díaz, is once again aiming for the vice presidency in a possible government led by socialists, as was the case with the first edition of Sánchez’s Moncloa.

According to rumors leaked by El Paìs, Sumar proposed that from 2013 onwards, the criminal liability of all persons accused or convicted for actions whose political goal was “the self-determination of Catalonia” should be annulled. According to calculations by the Spanish media, around 5 thousand people will benefit from this. An amnesty bill was submitted by both Ecr and JxCat in 2021, but the Chamber’s legal experts rejected it as “unconstitutional.” At the time, PSOE’s socialists rejected the proposal, aligning themselves with the positions of the PP and Vox.

Wounds that need healing

The social and electoral effects of the amnesty law are unknown. Compared to 2017, the climate in Catalonia seems to have changed and the main concerns are different: recession, inflation, sexism, housing crisis. The same problems experienced by residents of other communities. Both supporters and opponents of separatism seem to want to “turn the page.” Catalan trade unionist and politician Joan Coscubiela wrote in the newspaper El Diario: “For us Catalans and Spaniards, trapped in this logic of the barricades, it should not cost us too much to accept the need to overcome this collective drama of maintaining an entrenched situation before us, with its risks and costs.” “There is a dilemma between trying to unblock a socially damaging situation.”

Source: Today IT

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