What the PSOE and the Unidas Podemos government did under pressure from Esquerra Populara de Catalunya seems to me to be legal incompetence and political nonsense. For reasons of both substance and form. To suppress the crime of sedition and turn it into an “aggravated public turmoil” is to confuse merina with çurra. The former is limited to punishing the disintegration of the constitutional order, while the latter is limited to punishing the disintegration of the civic peace, which is another and much less serious. With this reform, serious acts such as calling for an illegal referendum, voting on disconnection laws, or declaring the independence of a part of the country’s territory go unpunished, while those who applaud these decisions on the street and burn a few containers are more severely punished. . thus limiting the rights of expression, assembly and demonstration. What happened in Catalonia in October 2017 was much more serious than a public order problem, but it was also a full-fledged challenge to legitimate power and the constitutional order stemming from popular sovereignty, and was an aggravating factor. A coup attempt from within the state’s own autonomous institutions. There is no head or tail for this order against the constitutional order to go unpunished and those who applaud on the street should be punished.
In the case of embezzlement, where there is no personal enrichment, and the public money yours and mine are used for “innocent” things such as attacking the territorial integrity of the State, which is much more serious, the penalties are significantly lowered or to fill political parties’ coffers. thus legitimizing partisan corruption This has bothered us a lot in recent years.
These are important legislative reforms carried out hastily and without the reports of the highest advisory bodies and the desired and enriching parliamentary debates. That’s how silly things happen afterward, such as the great faltering of the “Yes is yes only” Law, without taking responsibility for anyone.
It is not true that they are asking us for this reform from Europe, because in France, Germany, Italy everywhere, whatever they call sedition, they are punished in a similar way, and they do not even want us to turn the sedition into a rebellion. public disorder. And of course what no European country is doing is less about negotiating with the same criminals who will benefit from the change, rather than enacting a legal reform tailored to the benefit of certain people with first and last names. This is already the aurora borealis.
Recall that George Orwell said in Animal Farm that we are all equal, but some are more equal than others. It is very reactive. If we really want to be like our environment We could amend the Electoral Law to require 5% of the vote to enter parliament, Ban political parties that reject the Constitution, as in France or as in Germany.
The government claims that with this à la carte reform, the independence movement was “extinguished” when those convicted in the court one day said “o tornarem a fer”, when the head of the Generalitat himself agreed that there would be more with this reform. The independence movement is hard to persecute, and while they receive daily news from Catalonia of contempt of the courts and rejection of the head of state, they continue the raja-rajah of amnesty, self-determination and a referendum. If the separatists try again now, they will have an easier time because this legislative reform leaves the Constitution unprotected rather than more protected, which is what the Spanish government should do against those who do not hide that they want to end the Constitution. . After all, this is what Don Pedro Sánchez swore or promised when he took office: “To rule faithfully to the King and to abide by and enforce the Constitution as a fundamental rule of the State.” Voices are already starting to come from Barcelona calling for a new referendum. Sánchez says it never will, but unfortunately it must be admitted that he has a serious credibility issue.
for all I added my signature to the manifesto Published by the Association for the Advocacy of Transition Values.