Spain: 40K Protest Possible Amnesty of Catalan Separatists

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Facts

• An estimated 40K Spaniards, particularly from the opposition conservative People's Party (PP), flooded the streets of Madrid Sunday to protest acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's plans to offer amnesty to Catalan separatists in order to keep himself in office after he failed to win July's election.¹
• The People's Party, led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, came in first in July's inconclusive general election, though the party fell well short of the majority needed to form a new government. Meanwhile, the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, led by Sánchez, will also lack the necessary votes unless it gains the support of the Catalans.²
• Among the separatist leaders Sánchez needs to pull to his side is exiled former Catalonia leader Carles Puigdemont, who is wanted in Spain for encouraging the region's secession in 2017. Puigdemont has demanded the charges against him be dropped as a condition for his support.³
• While Feijóo has said at the rally that granting amnesty would amount to forgiving 'coup plotters,' Sánchez has already done so, pardoning nine separatists in 2021 who were jailed over their roles in the independence push.⁴
• Speaking in Catalonia the same day, Sánchez emphasized that if his government gave way to the People's Party, all the social, economic, and environmental progress his administration had made would be threatened by the conservatives, who he said would have to rely on the far-right Vox party.²
• With the next election set for Sept. 27, Feijóo will try to capture the prime minister's office, but if he fails, Sánchez will get a chance to garner support.¹

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Guardian, ³Dw.Com and ⁴CNN.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by The Telegraph. Acting Prime Minister Sánchez would rather collaborate with seditious traitors than work to build a government with the opposition party. Sánchez claims pardoning separatists would be forgiving 'mistakes made in the past,' but Puigdemont attempted to secede from the country just six years ago. Spaniards are tired of separatists and their socialist leanings, which is why citizens are rightfully speaking out against this proposed amnesty.
• Left narrative, as provided by Associated Press. While some argue that separatists are traitors and should not receive amnesty, the fact is that they're still Spaniards and far less dangerous than the Vox party which refuses to condemn former dictator Francisco Franco. The People's Party Feijóo knows he can't win by popular support alone, so he's trying to push feelings of fear and anger against the Catalonians rather than work to include them in the body politic.