A vote that places Podemos alongside the PP and Vox

Finally, Podemos has not backed down and has announced that it will vote against the transfer of immigration powers to Catalonia agreed between the PSOE and Junts. Thus, the purple-sounding party will vote alongside the most stale Spanish nationalists, that of the PP and Vox, against a measure that would increase Catalan self-government and bring the management of such a delicate issue closer to the institutions that work most on the ground. Podemos's excuse is that the preamble to the law states that immigration is a phenomenon that can pose "a risk to coexistence and social cohesion," a statement they consider "racist."

Regardless of the correctness or incorrectness of this statement, however, the truth is that Podemos uses this negative vote in two ways. On the one hand, it polarizes with Junts and gains media profile, and on the other, it wears down Sánchez's government by attacking its weakest link, which is Carles Puigdemont's party. It's no secret that the party led by Ione Belarra and Irene Montero is at war with the leftist government and is pushing for early elections, an objective it paradoxically shares with the PP and Vox, which, according to polls, would be the parties with the largest majority right now.

Podemos, then, has decided to use political tactics on this issue. And although they may try to justify it by defending immigrant rights, they are ultimately depriving Catalonia of its right to develop its own reception policy, just as the transfer of prisons has allowed for the implementation of a penitentiary policy distinct from that of the state as a whole. Because although this transfer was agreed upon by Junts, it should be the Generalitat (Catalan government) that implements it. Why should migration policy continue to be decided exclusively from Madrid? What will happen when there is a Spanish government formed by the PP and Vox? Can Podemos continue to be considered a Catalanist party when it votes against further self-government for Catalonia?

In this sense, it is regrettable that some organizations that have worked for immigrant rights, such as SOS Racismo, have aligned themselves with Podemos on this issue and opposed the position of the PSC, Junts, ERC, Comuns, and CUP. Others have distanced themselves and emphasize what is important, which is the direction of policies, assuming that it is always better to govern from a local perspective. Furthermore, Catalonia, due to its linguistic and cultural context, needs the tools to implement integration and cohesion policies that ensure that immigration does not endanger its own identity.

This episode should also serve to remind Junts that it is not enough to reach an agreement with the PSOE and that it must maintain good relations with all the investiture parties if it wants its initiatives to succeed. Because, after all, Podemos will do the same thing they did with the law on the reduction of the working day.