- Amnesty Agreement Sparks Controversy
- Conservative Opposition and Protests
- European Commission Requests Information
Acting prime minister of Spain for the Socialist Party, Pedro Sánchez, has reached a contentious amnesty agreement with a separatist party in Catalonia, which will extend his term in office by four years.
His decision to lead Spain towards “humiliation” prompted immediate condemnation from conservative adversaries.
Despite winning the July elections, the conservative Popular Party was unable to establish a majority.
Legal and Political Implications
The amnesty agreement would provide the Socialists with the necessary numbers.
In recent days, however, right-wing demonstrators have taken to the streets in Madrid and other cities, indignant at the prospect of a law that would grant amnesty to hundreds of Catalan politicians and activists “directly or indirectly” associated with a 2017 unsuccessful attempt to secede from Spain.
Popular Party (PP) members said the temporary prime minister wrote a ‘clean cheque for the independence movement’. The Socialists, according to the regional leader of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, were “selling a nation with centuries of history” by undermining the rule of law in Spain.
Also expressing “profound concern” regarding the agreement were associations of judges and prosecutors.
“Join the Webull revolution in the UK and receive your free shares today.”
On a street in Madrid, a former leader of the PP in Catalonia and founder of the far-right Vox was shot in the head and injured amidst the frenetic atmosphere surrounding the agreement. It was reported that his assailant escaped the location aboard a motorbike.
Earlier, 78-year-old Alejo Vidal-Quadras had denounced the “infamous pact,” predicting that it would transform Spain into a “totalitarian tyranny.” Spanish sources suggested the incident was related to his defence of Iran’s exiled opposition.
Mr. Vidal-Quadras’ condition was reported to be stable.
One pro-independence party and Pedro Sánchez had already reached a settlement prior to Thursday’s agreement. The Catalan Republican Left (ERC) holds authority in the northeastern region of Spain.
Following this, his delegates reached a settlement with the more extremist group Together for Catalonia (JxCat). After leading the breakaway independence vote, Carles Puigdemont fled to Brussels to avoid incarceration.
Each of the ERC and JxCat occupies seven seats in the 350-seat parliament.
Prior to Mr. Sánchez’s pardon in 2021, nine Catalan leaders were imprisoned for sedition. While Mr. Puigdemont moved into exile in 2017. Although the penal code no longer classifies sedition as a crime, Mr. Puigdemont continues to face charges of disobedience and embezzlement of public funds, along with numerous others who have been accused of the same.
The roughly three-page pact proposes amnesty for Catalan independence movement charges from 2012 to 2023. However, no specific individuals are mentioned.
The Socialist party asserts that it will utilise the judiciary to defend the “broad development” of Catalonia’s autonomy, whereas JxCat intends to propose a “self-determination referendum on the political future of Catalonia” in accordance with the Spanish constitution.
Additionally, the text alludes to “lawfare,” a term employed by JxCat to denote legal proceedings that, according to the text, were utilised to politically persecute pro-independence figures.
The agreement brings “the historic conflict between Catalonia and Spain” closer to resolution, according to Mr. Puigdemont.
The Socialist party negotiator, Santos Cerdán, stated that it presented an unprecedented opportunity to address a matter that “can and should only be dealt with politically.”
Spain needs a progressive administration that offers stability and fulfils the people’s mandate from the recent elections.
The conservative PP chairman, Alberto Nez Feijóo, prophesied a day “in the dark history of our nation.” He demanded additional demonstrations and claimed that the interim prime minister had unwittingly capitulated to the “blackmail of the independence movement” by forming an alliance for personal gain.
Isabel Díaz Ayuso, a party colleague, stated on Spanish television that the Socialists had abandoned all of their principles. She accused the interim prime minister of trying to smuggle “a dictatorship through the back door” by claiming that his party had chosen to remain in power despite losing the election.
Four judicial bodies denied the deal’s “lawfare” against pro-independence campaigners in a unified statement. Discourse characterised by “distrust” was deemed untenable, and they cautioned against any interference with the judiciary’s independence.
Parliament will consider the contentious amnesty legislation in the coming days; if it passes, the matter will proceed to an investiture debate and ultimately be put to a vote around Thursday of the following week.
European Commission’s Involvement
The European Commission wrote to the Spanish interim administration to request information about the proposed bill. A spokesperson stated that “a substantial number of citizens and stakeholders with concerns about [the amnesty]” had contacted the organisation.
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