November 9th will go down in history as a black day for Spain. In a hotel in Brussels, Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) signed an agreement with the Catalan separatist party, Junts, led by the fugitive Carles Puigdemont. In exchange for the seven votes Pedro Sánchez needs to be sworn in as president, the Socialists have agreed not only to amnesty, but have also accepted the negotiation of a future referendum on self-determination. They have agreed to the presence of an international ‘mechanism’ (a euphemism for a mediator) to “resolve the conflict” and verify compliance with the agreement by both parties; more money for the Catalan government—Junts wants all taxes collected in Catalonia to stay in Catalonia; and the direct participation of Catalonian government in European institutions and international organisations. All these stipulations will advance “the national recognition of Catalonia.” The PSOE has crossed all the red lines it promised to uphold and has given in to all the demands of separatists.
The pardon includes “both those responsible and the citizens who, before and after the 2014 popular consultation and 2017 referendum, have been the subject of decisions or legal proceedings linked to these events.”
In addition to a very broad amnesty, the PSOE has committed itself to the creation of parliamentary commissions of investigation to examine other judicial cases outside the procés (the independence process). This is related to the ‘lawfare’ thesis put forward by separatists, who claim that the Spanish justice system serves political interests and persecutes separatist politicians for ideological reasons. The PSOE endorses this view.
This leaves the door open for those convicted of corruption to escape justice. This could include a pardon for the family of the former president of the Catalan government Jordi Pujol, who have committed a number of crimes, or Laura Borrás, former president of the Parliament of Catalonia, who was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for prevarication and false documentation. There could be a pardon for even more serious cases, such as Gonzalo Boye, Puigdemont’s lawyer and a former terrorist, who is being prosecuted for money laundering in a drug trafficking case.
This attack on the justice system has provoked a response from the judiciary. Spain’s four judges’ associations—the Asociación Profesional de la Magistratura, the Asociación Judicial Francisco de Vitoria, the Foro Judicial Independiente, and Juezas y Jueces para la Democracia (which is a leftist association that supported amnesty until the details of this pact were made public)—issued a communiqué stating that the pact between the Socialists and the Junts “breaks the separation of powers.” The document confirms that judges “are subject only to the rule of law.” Late in the afternoon, the Permanent Commission of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ)—the body that represents the judiciary—issued a new communiqué denouncing an “inadmissible interference in judicial independence and a flagrant attack on the separation of Powers.” This message was even endorsed by two magistrates appointed by the Socialist Party.
The Association of the Higher Corps of State Treasury Inspectors also has declared its “absolute rejection” of the PSOE-Junts agreement, since it evidences a “rupture of the current constitutional regime” in many different ways, including financially. The three prosecutors’ associations (including the left-wing group) also released a joint document in which they described it as an “unprecedented attack on judicial independence that translates into absolute contempt for our rule of law.”
The president of the People’s Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, said that the agreement is “an unprecedented attack on democracy.” For Feijóo, Sánchez’s ambition, which “knows no limits,” is giving victory to the pro-independence supporters. The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, was more blunt: “They have brought us a dictatorship through the back door and we are at the beginning of it.” For his part, Santiago Abascal pointed to the beginning of a dark period in Spain’s history and called for unity in the face of the coup d’état: “This is not the time for parties, it is the time to put aside our differences to defend the nation.”
An attempted murder
In the midst of the uproar over the pact of infamy, veteran politician, Alejo Vidal-Quadras, was shot in the head on November 9th in Madrid. Vidal-Quadras was the president of the Partido Popular in Catalonia between 1991 and 1996. His staunch opposition to separatism led to PP’s strongest results in Catalonia. However, it put him in the crosshairs of the Catalan president, Jordi Pujol of Convergencia i Unió (the predecessor party of the Junts). In 1996, Pujol supported José María Aznar, national leader of the PP, for president of Spain. One of his conditions was that Aznar dismiss Vidal-Quadras, who had to leave his post. Subsequently, Vidal-Quadras was vice president of the European Parliament between 1996 to 2014. In 2014, he left the PP and became one of the founders of VOX. Vidal-Quadras retired from politics in 2015, although he has continued to be publicly active in various media.
Two people orchestrated the attack. One shot him in the head while the other provided a getaway for the assailant. Although Vidal-Quadras was hit in the mouth, his life is not in danger. Some media initially pointed to the possibility of a robbery, but that story was soon dismissed. Iran has also been blamed because of Vidal-Quadras’ relationship with Iranian opposition groups. It is still too early to determine who is behind the attack, but Vidal-Quadras was an easy target. Unlike many politicians, he has no protection.
He is also well known for his opposition to separatism and is linked to the PP and VOX. Regardless of the shooter’s intentions, this attack is an important destabilising factor in the current situation. Shortly before he was shot, Vidal-Quadras posted this message on Twitter:
The infamous pact between Sánchez and Puigdemont has already been agreed, which crushes the rule of law in Spain and puts an end to the separation of powers. Our nation will thus cease to be a liberal democracy and become a totalitarian tyranny. We Spaniards will not allow it.
The attack elicited massive expressions of affection and support on social networks, but there has also been backlash. Junts youths took to X to express their jubilation: “This is the way to destroy fascism! Back to those times when ‘hunting down’ this rabble was a duty.” This is the party with which the socialists have made a pact to achieve ‘coexistence and stability.’
Protests continue
On November 9th, for the 7th consecutive night, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest in front of Socialist Party headquarters in cities like Alicante, Almería, Barcelona, Cáceres, Granada, Málaga, Murcia, and Seville, among others. In Madrid, more than 10,000 people demonstrated. It has been the largest rally so far. As happened last Tuesday, some hooded protesters threw flares at the police and provoked the riot police to charge them. Again, the police had no qualms about using tear gas and rubber bullets, material that was not used against the far more violent protests of the Catalan separatists. The night resulted in 14 arrests.
The protests have raised the profile of the situation internationally and more and more people are turning their attention towards Spain. In Brussels, the European Commission was informed that the rule of law is being violated in Spain thanks to an information campaign by Jorge Buxadé, head of the European delegation of VOX. He is providing all the commissioners and MEPs with the communiqués of the judiciary rejecting the amnesty. It remains to be seen whether the Commission will be as firm with Sánchez as it has been with the Polish and Hungarian governments.
The protests are also proving that Spaniards will not give up. In addition to daily rallies in front of socialist headquarters, large mobilisations are planned in the coming weeks. Even if Sánchez is sworn in as president, tension will continue. Santiago Abascal, who attended the demonstration in Ferraz, made it very clear that civil resistance will persist and that “the end of this coup can only be: the dictator in the dock or those of us who oppose him in jail.”
The Pact of Infamy
November 9th will go down in history as a black day for Spain. In a hotel in Brussels, Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) signed an agreement with the Catalan separatist party, Junts, led by the fugitive Carles Puigdemont. In exchange for the seven votes Pedro Sánchez needs to be sworn in as president, the Socialists have agreed not only to amnesty, but have also accepted the negotiation of a future referendum on self-determination. They have agreed to the presence of an international ‘mechanism’ (a euphemism for a mediator) to “resolve the conflict” and verify compliance with the agreement by both parties; more money for the Catalan government—Junts wants all taxes collected in Catalonia to stay in Catalonia; and the direct participation of Catalonian government in European institutions and international organisations. All these stipulations will advance “the national recognition of Catalonia.” The PSOE has crossed all the red lines it promised to uphold and has given in to all the demands of separatists.
The pardon includes “both those responsible and the citizens who, before and after the 2014 popular consultation and 2017 referendum, have been the subject of decisions or legal proceedings linked to these events.”
In addition to a very broad amnesty, the PSOE has committed itself to the creation of parliamentary commissions of investigation to examine other judicial cases outside the procés (the independence process). This is related to the ‘lawfare’ thesis put forward by separatists, who claim that the Spanish justice system serves political interests and persecutes separatist politicians for ideological reasons. The PSOE endorses this view.
This leaves the door open for those convicted of corruption to escape justice. This could include a pardon for the family of the former president of the Catalan government Jordi Pujol, who have committed a number of crimes, or Laura Borrás, former president of the Parliament of Catalonia, who was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for prevarication and false documentation. There could be a pardon for even more serious cases, such as Gonzalo Boye, Puigdemont’s lawyer and a former terrorist, who is being prosecuted for money laundering in a drug trafficking case.
This attack on the justice system has provoked a response from the judiciary. Spain’s four judges’ associations—the Asociación Profesional de la Magistratura, the Asociación Judicial Francisco de Vitoria, the Foro Judicial Independiente, and Juezas y Jueces para la Democracia (which is a leftist association that supported amnesty until the details of this pact were made public)—issued a communiqué stating that the pact between the Socialists and the Junts “breaks the separation of powers.” The document confirms that judges “are subject only to the rule of law.” Late in the afternoon, the Permanent Commission of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ)—the body that represents the judiciary—issued a new communiqué denouncing an “inadmissible interference in judicial independence and a flagrant attack on the separation of Powers.” This message was even endorsed by two magistrates appointed by the Socialist Party.
The Association of the Higher Corps of State Treasury Inspectors also has declared its “absolute rejection” of the PSOE-Junts agreement, since it evidences a “rupture of the current constitutional regime” in many different ways, including financially. The three prosecutors’ associations (including the left-wing group) also released a joint document in which they described it as an “unprecedented attack on judicial independence that translates into absolute contempt for our rule of law.”
The president of the People’s Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, said that the agreement is “an unprecedented attack on democracy.” For Feijóo, Sánchez’s ambition, which “knows no limits,” is giving victory to the pro-independence supporters. The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, was more blunt: “They have brought us a dictatorship through the back door and we are at the beginning of it.” For his part, Santiago Abascal pointed to the beginning of a dark period in Spain’s history and called for unity in the face of the coup d’état: “This is not the time for parties, it is the time to put aside our differences to defend the nation.”
An attempted murder
In the midst of the uproar over the pact of infamy, veteran politician, Alejo Vidal-Quadras, was shot in the head on November 9th in Madrid. Vidal-Quadras was the president of the Partido Popular in Catalonia between 1991 and 1996. His staunch opposition to separatism led to PP’s strongest results in Catalonia. However, it put him in the crosshairs of the Catalan president, Jordi Pujol of Convergencia i Unió (the predecessor party of the Junts). In 1996, Pujol supported José María Aznar, national leader of the PP, for president of Spain. One of his conditions was that Aznar dismiss Vidal-Quadras, who had to leave his post. Subsequently, Vidal-Quadras was vice president of the European Parliament between 1996 to 2014. In 2014, he left the PP and became one of the founders of VOX. Vidal-Quadras retired from politics in 2015, although he has continued to be publicly active in various media.
Two people orchestrated the attack. One shot him in the head while the other provided a getaway for the assailant. Although Vidal-Quadras was hit in the mouth, his life is not in danger. Some media initially pointed to the possibility of a robbery, but that story was soon dismissed. Iran has also been blamed because of Vidal-Quadras’ relationship with Iranian opposition groups. It is still too early to determine who is behind the attack, but Vidal-Quadras was an easy target. Unlike many politicians, he has no protection.
He is also well known for his opposition to separatism and is linked to the PP and VOX. Regardless of the shooter’s intentions, this attack is an important destabilising factor in the current situation. Shortly before he was shot, Vidal-Quadras posted this message on Twitter:
The attack elicited massive expressions of affection and support on social networks, but there has also been backlash. Junts youths took to X to express their jubilation: “This is the way to destroy fascism! Back to those times when ‘hunting down’ this rabble was a duty.” This is the party with which the socialists have made a pact to achieve ‘coexistence and stability.’
Protests continue
On November 9th, for the 7th consecutive night, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest in front of Socialist Party headquarters in cities like Alicante, Almería, Barcelona, Cáceres, Granada, Málaga, Murcia, and Seville, among others. In Madrid, more than 10,000 people demonstrated. It has been the largest rally so far. As happened last Tuesday, some hooded protesters threw flares at the police and provoked the riot police to charge them. Again, the police had no qualms about using tear gas and rubber bullets, material that was not used against the far more violent protests of the Catalan separatists. The night resulted in 14 arrests.
The protests have raised the profile of the situation internationally and more and more people are turning their attention towards Spain. In Brussels, the European Commission was informed that the rule of law is being violated in Spain thanks to an information campaign by Jorge Buxadé, head of the European delegation of VOX. He is providing all the commissioners and MEPs with the communiqués of the judiciary rejecting the amnesty. It remains to be seen whether the Commission will be as firm with Sánchez as it has been with the Polish and Hungarian governments.
The protests are also proving that Spaniards will not give up. In addition to daily rallies in front of socialist headquarters, large mobilisations are planned in the coming weeks. Even if Sánchez is sworn in as president, tension will continue. Santiago Abascal, who attended the demonstration in Ferraz, made it very clear that civil resistance will persist and that “the end of this coup can only be: the dictator in the dock or those of us who oppose him in jail.”
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