An attempt by Spain’s government to reduce the sentences of ETA terrorists has ignited a fierce institutional battle, as the Socialist-led lower house attempts to bypass the Senate’s rejection of the controversial “Txapote Law”.
These latest legal and constitutional arguments are unfolding against the backdrop of a crumbling administration increasingly reliant on concessions to separatists as it clings to power.
The proposed legal reform benefits over 40 members of the disbanded Basque terror group by allowing them to count prison time served abroad towards their sentences in Spain. The proposal has met heavy resistance, particularly from the Senate, where the opposition centre-right Partido Popular (PP) holds a majority.
In a brazen move to fast-track the law, officials from the governing Socialist Party (PSOE) have downplayed the Senate’s vote against the measure. Patxi López, the PSOE spokesman, insisted that the Senate’s rejection does not amount to a veto.
Speaking on Monday, October 14th, López argued that the law could still be published directly in the Official State Gazette (BOE) without further debate in Congress. He dismissed the Senate’s vote as merely a “vote against”, asserting that it lacks the formal conditions of a veto. According to López, the regulation could be enacted without another round of parliamentary approval.
However, this interpretation has sparked a heated dispute. Senate President Pedro Rollán, following advice from legal experts, insisted that the rejection by an absolute majority in the Senate functions as a veto, forcing the bill back to Congress for another vote.
Tensions escalated when Congress, led by its Socialist president Francina Armengol, defiantly announced that it would proceed with publishing the law in the BOE, bypassing the Senate’s objections. This move has been condemned by the PP, which argues that the legislative process has been deliberately manipulated to favour the government’s agenda.
Alicia García, the PP spokesperson in the Senate, declared on Friday that her party would escalate the matter to the Constitutional Court (TC) if Armengol fails to call a plenary session to vote on the Senate’s veto.
The stakes are high, as the Constitutional Court could also be asked to rule on whether the Txapote Law violates European legal standards. The law’s reduction of prison sentences for ETA members, many of whom were convicted of terrorist acts, has also sparked outrage among victims’ groups, who see it as a betrayal of justice.
Amid this and multiple other scandals involving the Sánchez government, more than a hundred civil society groups, under the banner of the Platform for Constitutional Spain, have called for a mass rally in Madrid on Sunday, October 20th.
These groups accuse Sánchez’ administration of eroding democratic institutions and demand an immediate general election. The rally, endorsed by both the PP and the right-wing party VOX, is expected to draw significant crowds, with protesters rallying against the government’s corruption and disregard for constitutional norms.
The Sánchez government, increasingly isolated, is now facing pressure not only from opposition parties but also from civil society. As the Constitutional Court prepares to weigh in, and public discontent grows, Spain finds itself at a critical juncture, where the future of its democratic institutions hangs in the balance.
