Thousands protest against amnesty for Catalan separatists in Spain
Protests against granting amnesty for Catalan separatists are expected across Spain today.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reached an agreement with separatist parties to conform a minority coalition government this week after leveraging an amnesty deal to get the crucial support of ERS and Junts. The proposed Organic Amnesty Law for Catalonia intends to aid around 300 facing lawsuits, 73 police officers accused of criminal acts, and two alleged terrorism cases.
The proposed deal sparked backlash among opposition parties and nationalist movements that view such a move as self-serving. In addition, the conservative-leaning judiciary has called the bill the degradation and even an elimination of the rule of law.
In the short term, expect the bill to pass through Congress as support from Catalan and Basque will allow the ruling coalition to surpass the 171 seats of the opposition. Also, expect in the following weeks protests focused on the socialist party’s headquarters. In the mid-term however expect governance issues, as the inconclusive elections of July 23 left a fractured parliament. Confrontation between the executive and the judicial branches regarding the Law is also expected. In the long term, it is likely PM Sanchez will not be able to fulfill his mandate until 2027 as external is usually elusive and dependant on agendas calling for more autonomy in their regions.
