Contrary to predictions on Tuesday 30 January, the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament rejected the bill of amnesty for Catalan separatists.
That was close. 171 votes in favour and 179 against. There was no support for the Junts party, or... Catalan separatists. "It is totally incomprehensible for Junts to vote against the bill they have negotiated. To vote like [right-wing—cars.] PP and Vox, who want to put them in jail” – thundered Félix Bolaños (PSOE), Minister of Presidency and Justice, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's right hand. The Catalan left-wing ERC besides expressed disappointment with the consequence of the vote. "The task was supported by the Chamber", commented Oriol Junqueras organization leader.
In November 2023 Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez He promised the Amnesty Act to these 2 Catalan parties – Junts and ERC – in exchange for his support, which provided him with another term. The consequence of the vote reveals the fragility of this parliamentary coalition.
Amnesty would include about 400 people associated with the Catalan drive for independency since 2012, including organizers of the symbolic vote held in 2014 and the 2017 independency referendum, which courts considered illegal.
The Spanish police then tried to prevent a referendum from being held, requisitioned ballot cards, closed polling stations, brutally removing people who came to vote, fired rubber bullets at protesters.
Father of the 2017 referendum, then Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, fled before being arrested in Belgium. present Puigdemont is the leader of the Junts.
No public support for amnesty
The promise of amnesty made by Sánchez to separatists proved unpopular among the Spaniards and cost the Prime Minister quite a few political capital. Especially since he himself was against it recently, although in 2021 he pardoned respective prominent Catalan separatists. Today, he argues that amnesty is simply a essential step on the way to conciliation.
The September survey shows that as much as 70% of electorate is against this solution. Even among those who voted for PSOE in the July 2023 parliamentary election, as much as 59% argue amnesty. Last Sunday, 45,000 of her opponents came to the streets of Madrid. Protests with posters "Sánchez dictator" and "Stop amnesty" were besides held in Strasbourg and Brussels.
Right-wing PP wipes hands. They blame Sánchez for hypocrisy and dismantling the regulation of law. The fact that “allows criminals to dictate laws.”
It was PP who received the most votes in the last parliamentary election, but not adequate to form a government even with support far right of Vox. The nonsubjective of PP is to further weaken the fragile coalition of Social Democrats and the Left with regional parties.
The day after the vote on the front page, the paper “El País” quotes the PP leader: “The government sustains the life of artificial breathing”.
Jordi Sànchez, 1 of the leaders of the independency referendum. Arrested and sentenced to 9 years in prison. Released by pardon in 2021. photograph by Jakub SzafranskiBack to Start
The Amnesty bill was negotiated until the last minute. The negotiations further complicated the ongoing judicial proceedings.
A fewer days ago, a ultimate Court justice investigating Tsunami Democràtic's secret independency platform accused Puigdemont of playing a leadership role, and the platform's activities, specified as road closure and the blockade of the Barcelona airport in 2019, were "preliminarily classified as terrorism".
PSOE rapidly agreed to amend the text of the Act so that amnesty could include alleged acts of terrorism, but excluding "serious human rights violations".
Despite this, Junts yet voted against the project, arguing that the proposed amnesty is besides selective. "The task leaves Catalan separatistism to feed the arbitraryity of the politicized Spanish justice system," said Junts MP Miriam Nogueras.
Following rejection of the vote, the proposal returns to the committee, which has 2 weeks to make changes. Negotiators are returning to launch.
But even if the bill on amnesty succeeds in voting in the lower chamber, it will most likely be rejected by the Senate, where PP has the majority. There is no happy ending on the horizon, and the government of Sánchez is hanging by a thread.
