Spanish lawmakers pass amnesty law for Catalan separatists
Spanish lawmakers have approved a bill granting amnesty to Catalan separatists.
The MPs passed the amnesty law for Catalan separatists on Thursday with their figurehead Carles Puigdemont already mulling his return home from a years-long self-imposed exile to avoid prosecution over the 2017 independence bid.
Previously in mid-February, the bill was rejected by 179 votes to 171 in the 350-seat parliament where Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's left-wing minority government is dependent on a patchwork of coalitions to form his government. The controversial Catalan amnesty bill has sparked months of angry protests. This time, lawmakers voted 178 in favor to 172 against.
The passing of the bill marks a key moment for Sanchez as it was a demand made by separatist parties in exchange for their parliamentary support to allow him to serve a new term in office.
Sanchez, in a tweet on X, hailed the passing of the bill as a "courageous and necessary step" that opens "a new era of coexistence and prosperity in Catalonia".
The Catalan amnesty bill aims to draw a line under years of efforts to prosecute those involved in the botched secession bid that triggered Spain's worst political crisis in decades.
It will now be sent to the Senate, which is controlled by the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) that is resolutely opposed to the bill. The bill comes six weeks after an earlier version of the bill was voted down by lawmakers.
The PP has vowed to do everything possible to delay its passage before returning it to the Congress lower house for final approval.
The Catalan amnesty bill has been drafted by ruling Socialists and two Catalan separatist parties, the text is the most controversial piece of legislation parliament has voted on since Sanchez came to power in 2018, even dividing his own electorate.
The bill seeks to resolve the conflict and bring stability, Sanchez's Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) official Santos Cerdan told a news conference in Brussels last year after holding talks with Puigdemont, the Brussels-based leader of Catalan's separatists.
"Six years have passed [since the secession attempt] and the conflict is still unresolved," Cerdan said. "Our goal is to start a new chapter (...) where the errors of the past are no longer obstacles to overcome."
The Catalan amnesty bill, if finally approved, could exculpate as many as 1,400 activists and politicians involved in the attempt to separate Catalonia from Spain. The legislation is likely to end up in Spain’s Constitutional Court for a judicial review.
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