Podemos is now open to unblocking the delegation of immigration powers in Catalonia

Barcelona / MadridPodemos had been until now a wall to the agreement between the PSOE and Junts for the delegation of immigration powers in Catalonia. "It won't be done with Podemos' votes," the purple party asserted, very belligerent about the "racist" motives it attributed to the pact. This outright opposition was the main obstacle to fulfilling one of the demands of Carles Puigdemont's party in exchange for parliamentary support for the Socialists. The failure to meet this point was, in fact, one of the main reasons cited by the Catalan branch of the ruling coalition for breaking with the central government. At one of the most delicate moments of the legislature, with the Spanish government on the ropes due to the railway crisis, the PSOE has pressed the button that Podemos had already indicated could be the key to this impasse: the regularization of half a million people already in Spain. MEP Irene Montero confirmed this Tuesday that her party is now open to negotiating the delegation of powers to the Catalan government. Speaking to SER, he showed his willingness to now discuss the text in order to "modify" what had been blocked until now. so that it "has no racist content"Despite the fact that the PSOE-Junts bill is a rather technical document that transfers functions previously carried out by the central government to the Generalitat (Catalan government), Podemos leader Ione Belarra confirmed at a press conference in Congress that "we are open to negotiation as long as our contributions are taken into account." "Before discussing powers, we had to guarantee rights," explained Montero to justify her party's change of position. Regularization, she added, was "one of the fundamental elements to ensure that the delegation of powers does not reinforce racism against migrants." Junts is demanding that the PSOE finally convince the party. "Catalonia needs to exercise 100% of its power regarding immigration," Junts deputies told the press after the plenary session in Congress. Party sources, along these lines, say that it is now up to the Socialists to revive the proposed law, which has been pending in the Spanish Parliament since September 23, when Congress rejected the initiative with votes against it from the PP, Vox, Podemos, UPN, one deputy from Compromís, and another from the Chunta Aragonesista.

"Political legitimization" of the measure

And what does the Spanish government say? Government spokesperson Elma Saiz was cautious, limiting herself to prescribing "dialogue" and saying that "agreements must be honored." According to the Moncloa Palace (the Prime Minister's office), it would be a significant step for the Catalan government (Generalitat) to assume these powers in order to "advance a comprehensive migration policy." From there, Saiz sought to defend the "political legitimacy" of regularizing these half a million people (some 150,000 of whom reside in Catalonia), although the measure will not go through Congress because it involves modifying a regulation. According to Saiz, in a context of rising far-right extremism in Europe and restrictive migration policies from governments of all stripes, the Spanish government wants to be a "seed" in the fight against the far-right wave.

Opposition from the right and support from the Church

As the PP and Vox already stated yesterday, the PP spokesperson in the lower house, Ester Muñoz, rejected the agreement between the PSOE and Podemos and criticized the change in Podemos's position. "What was once racist is no longer so," she quipped in statements in the halls of Congress. According to Muñoz, the initiative is a "frivolous" move by the PSOE, and she said it seeks to divert attention from the railway crisis. The PP also opposes it on a fundamental point. They maintain that regularizations cannot be mass regularizations, but must be carried out "person by person." The far-right party went further than the PP and announced that it will appeal the initiative before the Supreme Court. Its spokesperson in Congress, Pepa Millán, called it "madness" and "outrageous." This stance contrasts with that of the Spanish Church. In a statement, the migration department of the Spanish Episcopal Conference welcomed the regularization announcement. The Spanish bishops consider this a measure "of social justice and recognition for the many migrants who have long contributed to the development of our country through their work."