The statements of the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, at the ARA The protests against the transfer of immigration powers to Catalonia, arguing that the Mossos d'Esquadra would carry out racist raids, have sparked widespread condemnation among pro-Catalan forces, from the CUP (Citizens of Catalonia) to Junts (Junts), and even Comuns (Comuns). It has been a long time since there has been such a broad consensus on an issue that affects Catalonia's self-government. In contrast, Podemos Catalunya, which sided with its leader in Madrid on Wednesday, is aligning itself on this issue with the PP and Vox, both of which are in principle opposed to any transfer of powers to Catalonia.
Belarra also used a misleading argument, prejudging how the Mossos d'Esquadra would act, when in reality what is being discussed is whether or not Catalonia has the right to exercise powers over immigration, just as it exercises them in other areas, such as education, healthcare, and prisons. To claim that it's better for powers to remain in the hands of the central government, and therefore to vote against the transfer agreed between the PSOE and Junts, buries any plurinational ambitions of Podemos and reveals a dangerous Jacobin tendency and prejudices against Catalans that, by the way, are not so different from what we've already seen in other forms.
Unfortunately, this shift in Podemos's direction isn't just seen in relation to Catalonia, but in general. Just this past Tuesday, Podemos (and the BNG, admittedly, also) added their votes to those of the PP, Vox, and Junts against the Spanish government's anti-blackout decree. Beyond their arguments against the decree, what's at stake, as Belarra states in the interview, is the conviction that the current legislature is over and that—she doesn't say this, but it's inferred—elections are necessary. You don't have to be very clever to see a special interest in getting rid of the political figures Pedro Sánchez and Yolanda Díaz, whom they blame for their political marginalization, to make way for a period of government between the PP and Vox, in which they trust they could lead the opposition. Faithful to the worse, the better, it seems that Podemos's only driving force right now is derailing a legislature that was supposed to be key, precisely, to advancing the decentralization process.
In reality, however, Podemos's position is highly irresponsible and is exercised from a position of comfort, as a PP-Vox government will not have the same consequences for all territories. Suffering from it in Madrid is not the same as suffering from it in Catalonia, where a distinct language is in danger and an entire culture of self-government would be threatened. A certain part of the Spanish left seems unaware of the intrinsic danger that such a government poses to the Spain they claim to defend, just as they fail to appreciate the exception that the current executive represents in the current European context. It would be highly paradoxical if those who came to end the regime of '78 ended up strengthening it by opening the doors wide open to the PP and Vox.
