Spanish Congress Passes Amnesty Law for Catalan Separatists
The Facts
The lower house of the Spanish parliament on Thursday approved the government-backed amnesty bill for Catalan secessionists, 178 to 172, sending the legislation to the Senate.
This follows weeks of negotiations between the ruling Socialists and pro-independence parties Junts and Esquerra Republicana on the content and scope of the law. Junior coalition partner Sumar, as well as Basque and Galician parties, supported this bill, while right-wing parties voted against it.
The Spin
Narrative A
It's disgraceful that the Congress of Deputies has approved a blanket amnesty for all crimes that Catalan secessionists carried out in connection with the 2017 referendum — even for terrorism — only because the ruling coalition is fully dependent on the support of Catalan separatists. No wonder Sánchez himself failed to stand up for this bill, only appearing in the chamber after the debate had ended.
Narrative B
While it's true that this amnesty for Catalan nationalists is a pragmatic move that most Spaniards oppose and that has divided legal experts over its constitutionality, it's a matter of fact that this is the best way to cool tensions and help resolve political and social fractures in Spain. It's only through dialogue and democratic debate that the country can finally achieve internal reconciliation.
Narrative C
Madrid may well try to deceive the international community into believing that this amnesty is a path to reconciliation, though the law is actually an admission of error regarding its own reaction to the 2017 referendum, which was, at most, a mere act of disobedience. Now that the years of exile are about to come to an end, Catalonia has entered the fourth phase of its transition to sovereignty.