#catalonia referendum

[mapsontheweb]

2017 Catalan Independence Referendum Results!

[useless-catalanfacts]

Do you have any recommendations on books about the history of Catalonia?

I have (obviously) read about the topic in Catalan, so I haven't personally read the books that have been published in English, and the options are going to be more limited in English. But I have heard lots of historians (both from here and from around the world) praise the book A People's History of Catalonia by Michael Eaude. Judging by the reviews I've seen, it seems like a very complete book, perfectly historically accurate, and engaging. Even though I haven't read it personally (yet), I've seen Catalan historians whose work I really trust and respect recommend it.

However, you have to be interested in working class history, if you're looking for the story of kings and the church, you'll find that less here.

This might also interest you: I answered a similar question here.

[argumate]

like I think it's noteworthy that Scotland had an independence referendum and will probably have another, Catalonia tried but was suppressed, and Hong Kong obviously had no chance; these situations fall along a spectrum of authoritarian rule.

[mariacallous]

Last week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez decided to serve out the remainder of his third term after briefly threatening to resign following allegations of corruption against his wife, Begoña Gómez. Though Spain’s national prosecutor’s office has already recommended that the case be dismissed due to a lack of evidence, Sánchez and many members of his leftist coalition suspect that the legal action against Gómez—brought by the anti-corruption organization Manos Limpias (Clean Hands)—is politically motivated.

Though Manos Limpias claims to be politically neutral, its most famous cases have focused on Catalan separatism and targeted prominent left-wing causes, such as the one that it brought against judge Baltasar Garzón for investigating human rights violations that occurred during the Spanish Civil War and the ensuing nearly 40-year dictatorship.

Ultimately, though, it is not Manos Limpias that decides whether to pursue the case against Gómez or anyone else it targets. The more important question is whether the judge in the Gómez case is politically motivated, having launched a preliminary investigation into her business activities on the basis of such weak evidence.

Sánchez is therefore justified in suspecting that the case against his wife could be politically charged—and possibly a reaction to the controversial amnesty deal that he recently made with Catalan secessionists.

Last fall, Sánchez secured parliamentary approval for an amnesty deal that potentially benefits hundreds of Catalan separatists. The complex and divisive process that resulted in the deal began with an inconclusive general election last summer, when the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), Sánchez’s party, had to scrape together an agreement with two pro-independence Catalan groups in order to form a coalition government.

The secessionist groups, the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Junts per Catalunya, were quick to name a high price for propping Sánchez up. They demanded amnesty for all those prosecuted or awaiting prosecution for their roles in staging the 2017 independence referendum, which was declared illegal in advance by Spain’s Constitutional Court.

Though the turnout was low at 43 percent, 92 percent of Catalans voted to split from Spain, prompting Catalonia’s then-president, Carles Puigdemont, to make a unilateral declaration of independence in an address to the regional parliament. The federal government, then led by conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, responded by suspending the region’s powers of autonomy and, on the day of the vote itself, sending in police to seize ballot boxes and barricade polling stations.

Puigdemont has since been in self-imposed exile in Belgium and would be the highest-profile beneficiary of the amnesty deal, which was approved by a narrow vote in Spain’s lower house of parliament in March. The bill has been filibustered by Spain’s conservative-dominated upper house since then, but when it returns to the lower house on May 14, it will almost certainly be approved by a second vote and become law. (Even if Spain’s Senate vetoes legislation, it can still be passed by an absolute majority the second time around.)

Despite being backed by a majority of Catalans, the amnesty bill is hugely unpopular throughout the rest of Spain. A poll conducted last fall found that 70 percent of Spaniards surveyed were opposed to it becoming law, including 59 percent who voted for the PSOE in June 2023. Protests, some violent, erupted across the country in opposition to the deal, which conservative leader Alberto Feijóo has described  as “the greatest affront to dignity, equality and the separation of powers seen in a western democracy.” A group of magistrates from the Spanish judiciary regard the pact as effectively meaning “the abolition of the rule of law in Spain.” It is scant consolation for the deal’s many critics that national and regional judges would have the power to review pleas on a case-by-case basis.

Brussels has also expressed concern—in November 2023, months before the proposed amnesty bill was approved by the lower house, the European Union’s justice chief requested details from the Spanish government regarding the bill’s potential scope and force. The EU also ruled last summer that Puigdemont, who currently serves as a member of the European Parliament, should lose his parliamentary immunity—a move that, barring the amnesty deal, would have allowed for his extradition to and prosecution in Spain.

Over the past five years, Sánchez has completely reversed course over Catalan independence. In 2019, when Spain’s Supreme Court sentenced nine leading separatists to prison for up to 13 years for orchestrating the 2017 vote, he described the sentences as the result of an “exemplary legal process.” Two years later, when he was more reliant on Catalan separatists’ support in parliament, he pardoned the same secessionists and insisted that they would not be asked to renounce their political cause in exchange for freedom.

Given the PSOE leader’s increased dependency on Catalan support over that period as well as his initial promise to comply with the Supreme Court’s sentences, it is hard to believe that his flip-flopping was motivated by anything other than expediency.

Still, Sánchez could just about get away with granting the pardons and maintaining the government’s official unionist line: Releasing prisoners only indicated that he believed their punishment was excessive, not that there had been no offense in the first place.

In contrast, “amnesty” is derived from the Greek word amnesia (which means the act of forgetting), and it effectively implies that no crime was committed in the first place and that the 2017 Catalan independence referendum was legal. Plus, since the amnesty deal was named by Catalan separatists as the price of their support for Sánchez during his third term, it comes with zero conditions attached for them. Secessionists are pulling the strings that control Sánchez, rather than the other way around.

For this reason, the Spanish prime minister is mistaken if he thinks that the amnesty bill will guarantee Junts’ and ERC’s votes for the remainder of his third term, or ease relations between unionists and secessionists. Whereas Sánchez hailed their deal as a “brave and necessary step towards reunion,” separatists, including the Catalan President Pere Aragonès, will likely use it as a political tool to renew the battle for an independent Catalonia.

Blocking their path, however, is the Spanish Constitution, which is fundamentally committed to the “indissoluble unity” of the country. This was the basis for the Constitutional Court’s ruling that the 2017 referendum was illegal, and why any attempt at a repeat—perhaps modeled on the vote that took place in Scotland in 2014­—would run into difficulties. Unless the relevant sections of the constitution are altered in advance by parliamentary approval, the referendum would still be illegal. Thus, by attempting to grant the amnesties at the same time as insisting that there is no possibility of a state-approved referendum, Sánchez has ensnared himself in a Catch-22.

If Sánchez were to permit a referendum on Catalan secession, it would be the biggest risk taken by a Spanish premier in the country’s post-Franco democratic era.

Yet there are strong indications that now is the perfect time to do so, as far as unionists are concerned. A poll published in November 2023 showed that support within Catalonia for independence has dropped to just 31 percent, its lowest point in more than a decade (even as 60 percent of Catalans back the amnesty deal). It also looks as if Aragonès’s pro-independence minority coalition, long debilitated by fratricidal tensions, is finally on its way out.

One day before Spain’s lower house approved the amnesty, Aragonès announced an early regional election in Catalonia for May 12, prompted by his government’s inability to pass this year’s budget. (The next vote was not due to be held until early 2025.) Polls indicate that the PSOE will come first, and that support for two of the three main pro-independence forces—including Aragonès’s party, the ERC, and the more hard-line Popular Unity Candidacy—will drop significantly, making it uncertain whether the secessionists will be able to form a regional coalition by themselves.

But their failure to do so wouldn’t necessarily take the pressure off Sánchez in the national parliament: Boosted by the amnesty deal, secessionists are likely to keep requesting a legal referendum on independence.

Shortly after Aragonès announced the early elections, Sánchez canceled Spain’s 2024 budget, opting instead to roll over the 2023 budget on the basis that the ERC and Junts will be too distracted by campaigning to steer this year’s spending plan through parliament. It’s a move that highlights the logistical difficulties that will mark the rest of his third term: Even if the amnesty deal becomes law, Sánchez will still have to win the support of the ERC and Junts on a case-by-case basis. That, in turn, will result in increased hostility from the right regarding collaboration with secessionists—and potentially also from the factions of the prime minister’s own party that opposed the amnesty deal in the first place.

Theoretically, there is one way out of this impasse for Sánchez: backing another independence referendum in Catalonia, much like Westminster backed the Scottish vote in 2014, on the reasonable expectation that it would fail. If it did, he could then claim to have met all the separatists’ demands at the same time as having strengthened the union.

But the constitutional and legal difficulties render this course of action virtually impossible. Instead, Sánchez will spend his third term at the mercy of emboldened separatists, locked into a stance on Catalan secession that is no longer credible.

[beardedmrbean]

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has suspended public duties to "stop and reflect" on whether to remain in the job, after a court opened a preliminary inquiry into his wife.

In a statement, the Spanish leader said he urgently needed to decide "whether I should continue to lead the government or renounce this honour".

The court said it was responding to corruption claims against Begoña Gómez.

Mr Sánchez said he would make a decision on his future next Monday.

His wife would defend her honour and work with the judiciary, he said, to make clear there was no substance to the allegations against her.

The complaint against Begoña Gómez was raised by anti-corruption campaigners Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), who have taken part in a number of high-profile court cases in recent years and are led by a man linked to the far right called Miguel Bernad.

Manos Limpias put out a statement on Thursday signed by Mr Bernad acknowledging that its allegations might be false, because they were based on online newspaper stories: "If they are not true, it will be up to those that published them to take responsibility for the falsehood."

The Socialist prime minister said he would give a statement to the media on 29 April, after reflecting whether it was worth remaining in office "despite the mud" that the right and far right were trying to turn politics into.

In a lengthy statement on X, Mr Sánchez complained of a "strategy of harassment" over months aimed at weakening him politically and personally targeting his wife.

The court did not give details of the accusations against Begoña Gómez other than to say it had begun investigating allegations of influence peddling and corruption on 16 April.

However, the Cadena Ser website published details of the Manos Limpias complaint, which included a list of allegations culled from news websites including El Confidencial and Voz Populi.

El Confidencial reported on Wednesday that the inquiry was looking into Begoña Gómez's links to private companies that had secured government money or public contracts.

In particular, it cited a "sponsorship agreement" involving tourism group Globalia and a foundation she ran in 2020 called IE Africa Center. In 2020, Globalia secured a €475m (£407m) bailout for its airline Air Europa, as part of a series of government rescue packages for companies during the Covid-19 crisis.

The legal complaint was signed by Miguel Bernad, the head of Manos Limpias, which describes itself as a trade union and has in the past targeted politicians, bankers and King Felipe VI's sister, Princess Cristina.

Spain's conservative Popular Party (PP) demanded explanations in parliament earlier on Wednesday, to which the prime minister said simply that he believed in justice "despite everything".

Spanish media said he had left parliament for his Madrid residence visibly upset. Hours later he accused PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of working with far-right party Vox to bring him down.

"I am not naive. I realise they are denouncing Begoña, not because she has done anything illegal - they know there is no case - but because she is my wife," he complained in his statement.

Political allies expressed support for Mr Sánchez, who has been in power since 2018, but his decision to suspend public duties comes at a tense time for his Socialist party ahead of European Parliament elections in June and elections in the Catalonia region of north-eastern Spain next month.

He was due to take part in a Catalan campaign launch in Barcelona on Thursday.

Pedro Sánchez leads an awkward coalition that includes two Catalan separatist parties, which were persuaded to support the government in return for an amnesty that covered a banned Catalan referendum on secession in 2017.

Without the support of the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) and Together for Catalonia (JxCat) he would not have been able to stay in power, following an inconclusive election last year.

Opposition parties were outraged by the amnesty, which also means the former Catalan regional leader Carles Puigdemont will stand in next month's regional vote, seven years after he fled imminent arrest and went into exile in Belgium.

Mr Puigdemont is still facing a terrorism case but believes the amnesty will enable him to return to Spain.

[warningsine]

MADRID — Pedro Sánchez has achieved what many thought impossible.

When he called a snap election after suffering heavy losses in May’s regional and local votes, nearly everyone wrote the Spanish prime minister off as a political cadaver.

But on Wednesday, Sánchez will propose that Spain’s parliament let him form a new government, a bid that a majority of lawmakers is expected to support.

While the Socialist leader’s electoral gamble seems about to pay off, it comes at a heavy price.

To have his government confirmed by the fractured parliament, Sánchez needed to secure the support of the Catalan separatist Junts group. In exchange for the group’s backing, his Socialist Party this week filed a controversial bill to grant amnesty to those involved in the Catalan separatist movement over the past decade.

“Amnesties in Spain have historically been applied after episodes of great violence or when there is a regime change, as happened when the last one was passed in 1977,” said political scientist Pablo Simón. “But this one is impossible to disassociate from the negotiation to form a government.”

Over the past week, thousands of Spaniards have taken to the streets to protest. While the outcry is expected to dissipate — as happened in 2021, when the pardoning of imprisoned Catalan leaders sparked widespread anger — profound social tensions are likely to remain.

The center-right Popular Party has vowed to challenge the amnesty in the courts. If the law were to be overturned, it would constitute a stunning rebuke of Sánchez.

But even if the amnesty passes judicial scrutiny, that result may prove just as problematic for the Socialist leader.

The bill would allow figures like former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, who has lived in Belgium since the failed 2017 Catalan independence referendum, to return to Spain — and to the political fold.

It remains to be seen if the de facto leader of Junts can still inspire the masses that backed him six years ago, and whether he’ll be able to use them to exert pressure on Sánchez.

Do-nothing parliament?

Getting parties in a fractured parliament to back the formation of a government is one thing. Getting them to vote for its legislation is another.

The various left-wing and separatist parties slated to back Sánchez on Thursday have radically different political ideologies, and that could be a major problem this term.

“It’s going to be very difficult to pass any laws,” Simón said.

But Sánchez, the quintessential comeback kid, has never been one to fear the odds. Once his government passes a budget, moving his legislative agenda forward will require him to do what he does best: negotiate.

“During the last term, when the prime minister oversaw Spain’s first-ever coalition government, we got major, socially progressive legislation passed despite the pandemic and the war in Ukraine,” former Health Minister and Socialist Party of Catalonia Secretary Salvador Illa told POLITICO.

“I think this next term will be much more productive and stable than most people predict.”

[lukaina]



The elections were... meh? The far-right lost some important seats (yay), but there was a lot of abstention in Catalonia and, especially, Barcelona.

I resent being surrounded by people who pretend the face-eating lions on our doors are not their problem because the only focus should be Catalonia's independence. Even if we were granted a referendum and the referendum had enough votes, being independent next to a fascist country that never properly interrogated its Francoist past would not be a walk in the park either.

Also, there is a very high chance that the elections will have to be repeated, and that gives the right yet another opportunity to play dirty. For this campaign, they seem to have taken a lot of notes from the trumpist playbook (for example, blaming the post office).

So I went to sleep seething with anger, but I woke up to apparently very good news on the work front and the possibility of seeing friends in November.

[congress-of-deputies]

OH MY GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU

By Carles Puigdemont

DO YOU SEE HOW THEY LOVE ME The past 3 days have been an absolute horror to sit through. Even as a hologram, I could feel the absolute disappointment and failure radiating from the Congress of Deputies. As a representative of the Catalan people, I cannot stop myself from being absolutely frustrated by the state of affairs. First, the amnesty bill. Catalans have been wrongfully prosecuted since the righteous and democratic referendum that we held in 2017. Get out of Spain and you’ll see our fellow people living in exile, away from their own homeland. The amnesty bill would have been a first step to allow for our fellow countrymen to return. Unfortunately for us, the inept congress decided to heed the words of Vox instead of Catalans regarding a Catalonian issue. Moreover, even this sad compromise ended up failing. What an absolute circus to watch. Sad! Furthermore, the work on getting us fiscal autonomy was also horrid. Lendrick Kamar himself, a man who represents the many unheard voices in our nation, stated that he liked our proposal to put fiscal policy in the hands of Catalonia. And yet, Spain has proven ONCE AGAIN that the 'S' in their name is silent, failing to give us any new powers to protect the sovereignty of Catalonia.

[alaturkanews]

What's behind Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont's seven-year exile?

After nearly seven years on the run, exiled separatist Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has returned to Spain, flying in the face of a warrant out for his arrest. His return comes seven years after Catalonia’s unauthorised independence referendum, a vote that was not sanctioned by Spanish authorities and which attracted a notorious police crackdown. Not long after that incident, Puigdemont…

[head-post]

Spain’s Catalonia to elect new leader as Puigdemont faces arrest

Carles Puigdemont, the leader of the Catalan independence movement, intends to return to Spain and continue his political career despite the threat of imprisonment.

Puigdemont is in France after participating in the organisation of the Catalan independence referendum in 2017.

Spain consists of 17 autonomous regions with the right to determine their own budget for education, health care, etc. Catalonia is demanding an extension of its autonomous status up to and including secession from Spain.

Jordi Turull, secretary general of the Junts, told broadcaster 324 on Tuesday that he would demand the leadership vote be suspended if Puigdemont is detained because “it cannot take place in normal conditions” without his presence.

According to the parliamentary speaker, the vote on the candidacy of socialist Salvador Illia, who will be backed by the left-wing separatist ERC party after last week’s bilateral deal, will begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

Read more HERE

[mapsontheweb]

Catalan independence referendum, 2017.

by srb_maps

[useless-catalanfacts]

2nd February 2024. Photos from Vilaweb.

Demonstration in front of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (the highest court of the Spanish judiciary system in Catalonia) in Barcelona in support of Dani Gallardo, a young Spanish anarchist who is sentenced to prison because the took part in a peaceful demonstration held in Madrid (Spain's capital city) in favour of Catalan people's right to self-determination and against the Spanish police's violence against Catalan people.

We have explained Dani's case before, you can read it in this post:

Dani has been sentenced guilty to send a message. Until his case, more than 4,200 Catalan people had been sentenced guilty for their involvement in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum or the protests that followed it. The Spanish judiciary system has proven that they won't stop at punishing Catalan people, they also sent the police to beat up the protestors who demonstrated for Catalonia in Madrid (Spain) and they're also jailing a Spanish man for his solidarity.

Dani was sentenced guilty of public disorder and attempt against authority with made-up claims that had been fabricated hours before he even got arrested. The Spanish police already planned to arrest people and blame them for this even before the event happened. Dani spent 13 months in pre-trial jail, then he was released for some time, and now has received the order to go to prison for 2 years and 11 months more.

Cases like this is why there is a demand for an amnesty. After the last elections to the Spanish government, the PSOE party needed the support of other parties to get enough votes to form government. One of the must-have demands of the Catalan political parties was an amnesty law (amnesty laws are not uncommon in Spain) that would cancel the punishments of people who have been found guilty of political crimes related to the independence movement since 2017, because none of these thousands of people committed real harmful crimes. This law is currently being negotiated, but the Spanish parties are trying to write it in a way that will leave as many people out of the amnesty as possible. At the same time, the Spanish judiciary system continues accusing new people of terrorism for attending peaceful political demonstrations.

For example, two democratically-elected pro-independence politicians (Puigdemont and Wagensberg) are being accused of terrorism for supposedly calling for people to protest in the Barcelona airport, a protest that was completely peaceful and which was called by a civil society organization and not by these politicians. But they're influential, so Spain looks for any way to punish them. How are the Spanish judiciaries claiming that Puigdemont and Wagensberg should be sentenced guilty of terrorism for an action where there was no terrorism? The Spanish judges' imagination has no limits when it comes to sentencing Catalans and Basques. They are saying that it's terrorism because some of the protestors had weapons. What weapons? Fire extinguishers, bottles, and the metal carts that people use to carry their luggage:

Because there were fire extinguishers and luggage carts in the airport and people brought their own water, a completely peaceful protest that happened there is terrorism. The worst part is that it doesn't outrage or surprise us anymore, because we're so used to this nonsense.

[thefree-online]

Fury in Catalonia Over Abuse of Amnesty Law by Corrupt Spanish Judges

from thefreeonline  by Jordi Oriola Folch by Bella Caledonia photos added — – ( on Telegram t.me/thefreeonline) 2017.. Imported Police failed to block the popular Independence Referendum due to the massive turnout. In order to form a government of PSOE and Sumar (centre and left) and avoid one of PP and VOX (right and extreme right), they made a pact with eight parties, with 179 seats,…

[mariacallous]

In a move that left political observers scratching their heads, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez recently called early elections for July 23, five months ahead of schedule. Sánchez cited his left-wing coalition’s poor performance in May 28 local and regional elections as the impetus for his decision, taking personal responsibility for defeats by the conservative opposition. “Spaniards should clarify which political forces they want to take the lead,” Sánchez said after the results were announced.

By moving up the national vote, Sánchez is sacrificing valuable campaign time that could allow him to shore up his base and attack the opposition. He also risks angering the public by dominating the summer with what is expected to be an intensely fought political campaign; Spain has never before held a general election in the middle of the season, raising concerns about low turnout.

At first glance, Sánchez’s decision to call for early elections seems baffling—and potentially self-defeating. But there is a fair bit of strategy behind his decision.

Sánchez leads the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, or PSOE, which has ruled Spain longer than any other party since the country became a democracy in 1977 following the death of its longtime dictator, Gen. Francisco Franco. The party has been the engine behind Spain’s most important political, economic, and social changes over the years. PSOE’s accomplishments include shaping key provisions in Spain’s democratic constitution that was enacted by a 1978 referendum, such as a stipulation allowing for regional self-governance; guiding the country’s 1986 accession to the European Economic Community, a precursor to the European Union; and ushering in a revolution in social rights, including legalizing divorce, abortion, gay marriage, and euthanasia.

The PSOE has kept social democracy a viable political force in Spain at a time when it has struggled for relevance elsewhere in Western Europe. While social democratic parties in Italy, France, and Germany have in recent years either collapsed or become shadows of their former selves, the PSOE has thrived by shifting right on the economy—embracing some austerity measures—while pushing hard on cultural issues like LGBTQ+ rights, social justice, and gender parity.

Sánchez has been in power since 2018, following the ouster of then-Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy—a member of the conservative People’s Party (PP)—by a no-confidence vote triggered by a party-wide corruption scandal. That year, Sánchez made history in Spain by introducing a female-dominated cabinet. He then won a general election in November 2019 and was able to form a coalition with an electoral alliance led by Podemos, a left-wing populist party. It was Spain’s first coalition government since re-democratization.

For many voters, the prime minister has lost the luster of his initial years in office. A big culprit is COVID-19. Spain was hit especially hard by the pandemic, forcing Sánchez to implement one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns. Although an economic recovery is underway—Spain’s economy is projected to grow faster this year than the Eurozone average—this statistic is of little consolation to those hit by inflation and other economic ills. Sánchez also has yet to solve the Catalonia crisis: The prime minister has been willing to engage in negotiations with the region’s separatists but has refused to offer them the official independence referendum they seek.

Now, Sánchez hopes to use early elections to stop the political bleeding from his base—and prevent an implosion of his left-wing coalition. In the May 28 local and regional elections, the PSOE and Podemos sustained losses virtually everywhere, including in traditional strongholds such as Valencia and Andalusia.

Most observers expect a tight national race between the PSOE and the PP, and some polls show the PP ahead. The PP is benefiting from new leadership in the form of Alberto Núñez Feijóo, a former president of the Galicia region. Feijóo took over the party after the scandal-prone and divisive leadership of Pablo Casado, Sánchez’s principal opponent in the 2019 general elections. But polls indicate the PP will not be able to form a government without support from the far-right Vox party, which is currently registering a little over 10 percent in national opinion surveys. By calling early elections and catching the PP off guard, Sánchez believes he can weaken his conservative opponents as they deliberate on how to approach Vox.

Vox currently controls 52 seats in the Spanish Congress of Deputies—the third-largest force in that chamber—and, like most far-right parties, is extremely controversial. The party opposes LGBTQ+ rights, gender parity, and ongoing efforts to help Spain cope with the dark legacies of the Franco period. In particular, Vox has called for revoking the Law of Historical Memory, a landmark piece of legislation the PSOE enacted in 2007 that offered reparations to the victims of the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s political repression and deemed Franco’s regime illegitimate; and the 2022 Democratic Memory Law, which voided all court rulings issued under the old dictatorship, compelled the government to exhume the remains of those killed during the Civil War and the dictatorship and buried in mass graves, and banned the Francisco Franco National Foundation, which had promoted Franco’s legacy in democratic Spain. Vox has deemed both laws divisive and an attempt to rewrite history.

Vox’s political platform also includes erecting a wall around Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish enclaves in northern Africa that have become flashpoints in EU migration policy. Even more controversial is Vox’s proposal to hold a national referendum to ban separatist parties, such as the Republican Left of Catalonia, one of the parties responsible for the illegal 2017 referendum on Catalan independence. Banning separatist parties would likely be illegal, since Spanish law only allows for barring parties involved in criminal activity. (In the post-Franco era, only one party has been banned by the courts: Batasuna, the political wing of the Basque terrorist organization ETA, in 2003.)

There is little sign that Vox intends to moderate its stances going into the elections. “Kicking out Pedro Sánchez to repeal each and every one of his policies” will be the party’s focus, Santiago Abascal, Vox’s leader, said in reaction to the prime minister’s call for early elections. Feijóo, who hails from the moderate wing of the PP, is wary of embracing Vox. But he is also refusing to say whether he would welcome Vox as a political partner, knowing that he might need the party to form a government. As a sign that Feijóo might welcome a national coalition with Vox, he last year approved Vox’s entry into a coalition with the PP to govern the conservative region of Castilla y León in north-central Spain.

On the campaign trail, Sánchez is working overtime to tie Feijóo to Vox. Sánchez is also ramping up his rhetoric about the danger a Vox entry into national government would pose for Spain, even as a junior partner to the more moderate PP. He has warned that Vox could undo or weaken legal protections for abortion and same-sex marriage and rekindle the country’s fascist past. He has even framed the upcoming election as a choice between democracy and autocracy, referencing recent elections in the United States and Brazil. “Spaniards need to decide if they want a government on the side of Biden or Trump,” Sánchez told PSOE members when justifying his call for early elections.

Sánchez is hoping that early elections will help consolidate Spain’s left—the only way he could win reelection. His strategy is already working: Podemos and Sumar—another progressive left-wing party—announced on June 9 that they will run as a single entity along with 13 other left-wing parties. The deal was struck just hours before political parties were required to register for the July 23 elections.

Sumar is an offshoot of Podemos and is a part of Sánchez’s coalition. Its leader, Yolanda Díaz, is Sánchez’s minister of labor and Spain’s most popular politician. She is credited with negotiating a popular pandemic-era program that kept as many as 7 million Spaniards dependent on the state for their income, including furloughed workers and those on medical leave. She also spearheaded Spain’s 2022 labor reform, which cracked down on short-term contracts and secured new union protections. Díaz and other progressives in the Sánchez government are credited with securing the “Iberian exception,” which allows Spain and Portugal to cap electricity prices rather than tie them to the free market—something no other EU member states are permitted to do.

In pressuring Podemos and Sumar to run together, Sánchez hopes to overwhelm any possible coalition the PP could form after the elections. Spain’s electoral law rewards large parties and intraparty coalitions. A poll from El País found that if Sumar and Podemos ran separately, they would win 26 and 3 parliamentary seats, respectively, while a unified platform would net 41 seats—vastly improving the prospects of the left remaining in power.

Undoubtedly, winning reelection will be Sánchez’s biggest challenge to date. He is facing an emboldened right, a splintered left, and restless separatists. But he should not be underestimated. Sánchez’s political obituary has been written before, most notably in 2016, when he was removed from his position as PSOE president. He regained the position a year later and rose to power in 2018. Shortly thereafter, he survived a Catalan separatist attempt to sink his government by forcing him into new elections. It is within him to pull off another victory.

[beardedmrbean]

Spain's lower house of parliament, the Congress of Deputies, approved on Thursday a bill granting amnesty to Catalans involved in a 2017 independence referendum.

The bill passed with 178 votes in favor and 172 against.

Justice Minister Felix Bolanos says the amnesty law would affect "around 400 people."

The plans to provide amnesty to Catalan separatists has been controversial, sparking far-right demonstrations late last year.

What else do we know about the bill?

While Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialists initially expressed unwillingness to provide amnesty, elections in July resulted in a hung parliament and Sanchez required the support of Catalan separatist party Junts to form a government.

The amnesty bill must still clear the Senate, in which the conservative People's Party (PP) holds a majority of seats.

The PP has vowed to delay the passage of the measure, accusing the government of "buying" votes from separatist lawmakers to stay in power. However, the Congress can override a Senate veto with an absolute majority vote.

Six weeks ago, an earlier version of the bill was voted down by the lower house, with Junts' seven lawmakers voting against it, arguing that it did not offer sufficient protection against charges of terrorism or treason.

The amended version of the bill defines terrorism by a 2017 EU directive, according to which it would have to have caused serious human rights violations.

Catalan leader mulls return from exile

Former leader of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont, who fled to Brussels after the independence vote and now heads Junts, said he hoped to return to Spain after the law comes into effect. 

"The amnesty responds to a goal... to overcome an erroneous period of judicial and police repression of a political movement," Puigdemont said in a post on the platform X, formerly Twitter.

Puigdemont said that amnesty was a "prior condition" for further negotiation with the central government.

He stressed that the bill was "not an end point" for Catalonia's independence ambitions.

[tourporlaindiaseo]

PAQUETES TURÍSTICOS DE RAJASTÁN By Tour Por la India Company

Yes, of course! Rajastán, often known as the "State of the Maharajas," is a region in northwestern India known for its magnificent palaces, historical fortifications, colorful bazaars, and rich culture. Tourism packages in Rajastán offer a comprehensive experience to explore this fascinating region. Here is a general description of what you can expect from a Rajastán tour package:

Rajastán tour package:

Heritage Cities: Tours typically include visits to Rajasthan's major historical cities, such as Jaipur (the "Ciudad Rosa"), Udaipur (the "Ciudad de los Lagos"), Jodhpur (the "Ciudad Azul"), and Jaisalmer (the "Ciudad Dorada"). Each city has an own charm and offers a rich history and impressive architecture.

Rajastán is famous for its magnificent fortresses and luxurious palaces, which once served as the residence of local governors. Tourist packages typically include visits to iconic locations such as the Amber Fort in Jaipur, Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, the City Palace in Udaipur, and the Jaisalmer Fort, among others.

Cultura y Tradiciones: Viajes a Rajastán provide the opportunity to immerse oneself in the rich culture and traditions of the region. Tourist packages may include cultural experiences such as dance and folk music performances, local art demonstrations, and participation in traditional festivals and celebrations..

A unique experience in Rajasthan is a camel safari in the Thar Desert in Jaisalmer. Tourist packages can include a night in a desert camp, where you can enjoy a starry night and experience nomadic life in the desert.

Optional excursions: Depending on the package, you can visit nearby attractions such as the Jain Temple in Ranakpur, the Brahma Temple in Pushkar, or the Ranthambore National Park.

When searching for Rajastán tour packages offered by tour companies, it is important to review the itinerary details, inclusions and exclusions, as well as the opinions of other travelers to ensure a satisfactory experience. Rajastán is a stunning region with rich history and beauty, so make the most of your trip!

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Josep Rull is a Spanish politician who was born on March 10, 1968 in Terrassa, Barcelona. He is well-known for his political activities in Catalonia, including his involvement in the independentist Catalan political party Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC), which later became part of the Junts for Catalunya party.

Rull has held various political positions throughout his career. Between 2010 and 2016, he served as a member of the Catalan Parliament for the Barcelona constituency, as well as the position of Territorio y Sostenibilidad in the Catalan government led by Artur Mas and, later, Carles Puigdemont.

His political role became significant throughout the Catalan independence process, particularly in the October 2017 Catalan self-determination referendum, which was deemed illegal by the Spanish government. Rull, a Catalan politician who promoted and defended the referendum, faced court charges for his involvement in the process.

In October 2017, following Catalonia's unilateral declaration of independence, the Spanish government intervened and deposed Carles Puigdemont's government. Josep Rull, a Catalan politician, was imprisoned for his involvement in the independence process, facing charges of rebellion and misappropriation of public funds. He was later tried and convicted for these charges.

His case has sparked debate in Spain on issues such as regional autonomy, the right to self-determination, and political accountability for actions.