This Saturday, the city of Madrid was once again the scene of a demonstration against the amnesty of Catalan independentists that mobilized 170,000 people, according to figures from the security authorities.
The demonstration was called by a platform of civil society entities and had the support of the Popular Party (PP, right) and Vox (extreme right), the first and third forces in the Spanish Parliament, respectively.
Last Sunday, the demonstrations called by the PP in 52 cities mobilized two million people, according to the party, and 450,000, according to the authorities.
In addition, there have been daily demonstrations, at night, in front of the national headquarters of the Socialist Party (PSOE, which presides over the government of Spain), in Madrid, called on social networks.
These demonstrations, supported by Vox, but of which the PP stands out, have gathered between 1,500 and 4,000 people, depending on the day, and have ended on several occasions with riots and police charges. They have also been marked by fascist symbols, chants and gestures and those of the Spanish dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
The leaders of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and of Vox, Santiago Abascal, were among the protesters at today’s protest in Madrid.
On the stage where the Portuguese MEP of the European People’s Party Paulo Rangel participated, as well as Spanish personalities such as the philosopher Fernando Savater.
The Spanish right considers that the amnesty of the Catalan politicians who led the attempt at self-determination in Catalonia in 2017 could constitute an attack on the rule of law and the principle of separation of powers, in a warning that associations of judges and prosecutors have also made.
The PP and Vox hope, therefore, that there will be an intervention from the European Union and the leaders of the Popular Party have reminded countries such as Poland, Romania and Hungary of the Brussels procedures for the rule of law.
For now, the European People’s Party has called a debate on the situation of the rule of law in Spain in the European Parliament, scheduled for next week.
Last week, European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders asked Spain for “detailed information” on the amnesty, even before any proposed law was known, arguing that it was raising “serious concerns.”
The Spanish Government assured that it will explain to the Commission “all the details” of the future law and this week it sent to Brussels the proposal delivered to Parliament by the PSOE this week, also requesting a meeting to explain the document to European officials.
The amnesty law proposal was delivered to Parliament last Monday by the PSOE and is the result of agreements with two Catalan parties that in return made possible, on Thursday, a new left-wing government in Spain, headed by Pedro Sánchez, after the legislative July 23 elections.
The leader of the PP, Esteban González Pons, stated this week that the party expects “a reaction” from Brussels before the final approval of the amnesty law “that prevents this subversion of the constitutional order” in Spain, within “the established mechanisms in European treaties and regulations”. “.
In the “explanation of reasons” text that accompanies the bill, the PSOE emphasizes that the amnesty was already considered legal by the Spanish Constitutional Court in 1986 and that it was already applied in Spain in 1976 and 1977.
The text adds that, in addition, it is recognized and applied in other EU countries and is also “perfectly approved” by European organizations and by the European Court of Human Rights.
The PSOE maintains that this amnesty returns a political conflict to the political sphere and will serve to restore coexistence between Catalans and between Catalonia and the rest of Spain after the fracture of 2017.
Source: TSF
