Rufián-Nogueras clash over immigration transfer

BarcelonaThere were no disagreements between Junts and ERC when it came to voting in favor of delegating immigration powers. Rather, the Republicans endorsed the proposal that the Junts members had agreed with the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) to give Catalonia the power to manage the immigration issue. However, unity in voting does not always translate into unity in political position, as evidenced by the fact that, following this debate, the two parties have once again clashed. This was done through their two spokespersons in Congress, Míriam Nogueras (Juntos) and Gabriel Rufián (ERC), which is not the first time they have clashed.

During Tuesday's debate in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, the spokesperson for the ERC party in Congress, called Míriam Nogueras's speech "racist." This Wednesday, the spokesperson for the regional government (Junteros) in the Lower House invited Rufián to reach out to the people "by following the most populist Spanish left that exists here," he said in statements to Catalunya Ràdio. In fact, Nogueras questioned whether Rufián is still a separatist. The Republican leader, in turn, responded by calling her speech in Tuesday's plenary session "miserable." "It's very unpatriotic to hate a large part of the country. What Nogueras did in his speech was hate immigrants in Catalonia," he also added in an interview on Catalunya Ràdio.

The exchange of criticism didn't end there. Rufián has called on Junts to return to the "path of patriotism and Catalanism" in the face of the threat posed by the Catalan Alliance. In fact, the Republican leader once again lamented that Junts is allowing itself to be swept away by "fear" of Silvia Orriols's party "because it's eating away at their electorate," he said in statements to TV3. Nogueras, however, defended her speech on Tuesday and asserted that "recounting the data is not being racist." "Someone must explain the reality," she also added in an interview on TV3. One of the statements the left criticized the Junts spokesperson for was her assertion that "the survival of the [Catalan] identity is not guaranteed" due to immigration.

Criticism of Podemos

Despite the cross barbs, the two leaders did agree on one thing: when criticizing the No Podemos's opposition to the proposed law, which they have deemed a mistake. Nogueras has accused Ione Belarra's party of "political electioneering" and of "blackmailing" them by offering to accept a mass regularization of immigrants in exchange for their support for the law. "A party that doesn't set foot in Catalonia has the nerve to lecture them about what's happening in Catalonia," Nogueras criticized.

Rufián has been less vehement with a party with which he has repeatedly reminded them he has ideological affinity. "Don't take this as an offense, but they were wrong. These are powers for Catalonia, not for Junts," stated the Republican leader, who reminded the Lilacs that "the racist nature" of the law could be improved during the amendment period.

Tuesday's defeat was another parliamentary defeat for the PSOE, even though it was an initiative promoted by Junts, and it once again reflected the weakness of the Spanish government in Congress. In Wednesday's control session, Spanish First Vice President María Jesús Montero asked Carles Puigdemont's party to "contribute and contribute" by negotiating the 2026 state budget, although Junts has ruled this out for now. Junts MP Josep Maria Cruset criticized her in his question for not making public the budget execution data. "Without fulfilling our obligations to Catalonia, there will be no budget," he warned.