Thousands of Spaniards protested again in Madrid against the amnesty for the Catalans: “They make a pact with crime”

48 hours before Congress debates – and certainly approves – a law on the matter amnesty for Catalan independence activistsThousands of Spaniards demonstrated in Madrid on Sunday against the law he will erase the crimes committed by those who attempted to found the republic of Catalonia in 2017.

The appeal, which brought together thousands of Spanish and European Union flags, had as its motto “A strong Spain”.

The initiative was organized by the main opposition party, the PP, which has been protesting for months against the policies of the coalition government led by Pedro Sánchez.

The amnesty law that will be approved on Tuesday, and which causes a stir not only among opposition parties but also among recognized voices of the Socialist Party such as former president Felipe González, is part of the concessions that Pedro Sánchez makes to nationalist parties in exchange for the support of Catalan and Basque separatists for his re-election.

He thus obtained 179 votes in favor which gave him the absolute majority in Parliament to be re-elected head of government in November last year.

The power of the people

Organizers say the protest brought some together 70 thousand people. According to the government delegation, yes 45 thousand.

At eleven in the morning, as Plaza de España, one of the largest in the country, filled up, the song “People have the power” by Patti Smith rang out from the speakers.

Behind a lectern bearing the words “For the equality of Spaniards,” the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, told the crowd: “Spain is not silent, it does not allow itself to be deceived and Spain is not for sale, especially in name of those who are not interested in Spain”.

“Spain is governed worse than ever”, assured Núñez Feijóo. “They had the choice between the presidency and the Spaniards, and they chose the presidency,” the opposition leader said.

He was accompanied by former presidents José María Aznar -head of government from 1996 to 2004- and Mariano Rajoy -governed from 2011 to 2018-.

Furthermore, other regional presidents of autonomous communities governed by the PP such as Andalusia, Murcia, La Rioja, Valencian Community, Aragon, Extremadura, Balearic Islands and Castile and León participated.

The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, preceded the leader of the PP in her speech: “Sánchez is sinking all of Spain”he condemned.

“They civilize normal life and normalize crime. Why I agree with the crime“said Díaz Ayuso.

And he made a comparison with our country: “Paid servants are left running around in a machine of favors. And so they made the richest country in the world, Argentina, a factory of enormous poverty.”

Good terrorism, bad terrorism

The last chapter that aroused indignation among those who do not support the current Sánchez government was the thin thread relating to the question of whether or not the crimes committed by the independence activists reported or investigated as terrorism fell within the tabula rasa of the amnesty law on which will discuss. on Tuesday.

Because after the illegal self-determination referendum, the unilateral declaration of independence in 2017 and the intervention of Catalonia by the central government – ​​then led by Mariano Rajoy – the Catalan cities had no peace. Riots followed and some extremist activist groups, such as Tsunami Democràtic or the Committee for the Defense of the Republic (CDR), They blocked routes, burned containers in the streets and disrupted the operation of Barcelona’s El Prat airport..

The National Court is still investigating some of these crimes classified as “terrorism” and would implicate the former Catalan president. Carles Puigdemont.

Puigdemont, who today leads the right-wing independence party Junts per Catalunya, would be one of these main beneficiaries by the amnesty law. In Spain he is considered a fugitive from justice since, in October 2017, he fled to Belgium after declaring the independence of Catalonia.

“We know well what terrorism is and we know that the essence of terrorism is that it violates human rights. There is no such thing as good terrorism or bad terrorism. There are terrorists who should be in prison,” said the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, during the protest.

Fortified democracy

In an interview published this Sunday by the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia, President Pedro Sánchez justified his pact with the separatists: “Spanish democracy will be stronger when it comes to incorporating actors, in this case Junts per Catalunya or even Esquerra Republicana , “Who in the past refused to contribute constructively to the governability of the country.”

“I think this effort to normalize the situation in Catalonia also makes our democracy more complete,” Sánchez said in support of the amnesty law.

In Plaza de España in Madrid, however, part of the protest merchandise were scarves with the coat of arms of Spain and the words “I like fruit”. Ironic wink at the words with which Díaz Ayuso’s entourage tried to disguise the “son of a bitch!” Which the regional president launched against Pedro Sánchez in November last year, when in his investiture debate the president alluded to a corruption complaint involving her.