The amnesty brings merriment. While Catalonia greets him with distrust—there are still many heads to be sorted out—resentment is surfacing in Madrid. I'll leave aside the ritual shouting of indignant Spanish nationalism and stick with the vanity fair represented by Feijóo and the ineffable Felipe González.
The former socialist president swears that if the amnesty is confirmed, he will not vote for the PSOE again, which seems perfectly natural to me given the reactionary turn—and hatred of Sánchez—he has been exhibiting for some time now. It's yet another example of the unbearable loneliness of former presidents, who, moreover, are increasingly leaving power at younger ages—let's get used to Sánchez—and are perpetuating themselves in a background that not everyone knows how to manage.
You have to have little imagination and fewer arguments to compare, as Feijóo does, the amnesty with corruption and declare it illegal and immoral. This is the danger of seeing politics in black and white, when in the desire to be first, we lose sight of the country's global vision, which is the necessary step to be able to leapfrog the majority.
A year ago, on June 11, 2024, the amnesty law came into force, unconditionally rejected by the right, incapable of giving any sign of recognition to adversaries who had become enemies of the country, and whose complicity they will need to govern again. Spanish democracy is regulated by a legal framework defined by the Constitution, with the judiciary being responsible for resolving cases of alleged violations of the law. But the complexity of politics is also evident, requiring an inclusive perspective that allows for coexistence in the widest possible space for diversity. And this is where the capacity for integration is decisive, which is what characterizes a democracy worthy of the name, in which the value is freedom and authority is legitimized by a spirit of tolerance and respect.
Catalonia's aspiration for its own state is inscribed in the history of this country. The constitutional framework recognizes differences, but excludes independence, which, therefore, can be said to be outside the law. But the independence movement is recognized in Catalan society and has expressed its aspiration for a referendum as a path toward a general reconsideration. In 2017, it went too far, with the call for a referendum not recognized by the State. The independence movement went beyond its strength, and a wave of repression unfolded.
However, most political parties, with the exception of the right, gradually accepted the need for a certain détente, while at the same time, explicitly or implicitly, the independence movement recognized that it had taken a leap beyond its reach. It is in this sense that, with the arrival of Pedro Sánchez to power, the desirability of a broad amnesty that would contribute to a certain normalization began to take shape. And it came, but with resistance from the right and the courts, which were filling the road with obstacles. The PP should understand that either it adapts to this reality and moves closer to the Catalan right, or it will become totally dependent on Vox. Perhaps that's what they're looking for.
