The PSOE agrees to open a debate with Junts on the burka ban

Barcelona / MadridIn one new gesture of rapprochement with VoxThe People's Party (PP) announced it would vote in favor of the far-right Spanish nationalist party's bill to ban the burka and full-face veil in public spaces, which is being debated this Tuesday in Congress. The question was how Junts per Catalunya (Junts) would vote, as they have already expressed support for banning the full-face veil in public spaces but have never backed any initiative from Santiago Abascal's party. Early this morning, Junts clarified their position: they will vote against the bill because they consider Vox a party that "has led the repression in Catalonia," but, in return, they have registered their own bill.just as they did in Parliament– to ban the burka in public spaces. For now, the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) has agreed to "open the debate" with Miriam Nogueras's party on the matter and will "study" their proposal. In fact, Patxi López maintains that the fact that Junts (Together for Catalonia) is presenting an alternative and not joining Vox's proposal is a "demonstration" that they "don't buy into the far-right's framework." However, there are caveats: the Socialists warn that the ban on the full-face veil cannot, in practice, lead to the exclusion of these women from public spaces.

According to Junts, their proposal is a "rigorous law" that "does meet European standards." Besides the ban on the full-face veil, it also includes the delegation to Catalonia of state powers regarding security and identification of individuals, a point that will predictably clash with opposition from the right and far right when it is submitted to the lower house for consideration. "We say no to Vox's fascism, to populism, and to the false do-goodism of the left," added voices from the party. Speaking to reporters, Míriam Nogueras justified their initiative: "Far-right parties know how to shout a lot, but they don't know how to make laws; the law is very poorly written." Junts' slogan is clear: "Neither burka nor Vox." The first debate on the bill is expected in just over a month.

What exactly does the text say? The three-page bill contains a single article prohibiting the "use in public spaces" of "items or elements that totally or substantially cover the face" and "significantly impede or hinder the identification of the person," with explicit mention of the niqab and the burka. The explanatory statement argues that they "project a message incompatible with the ideal of equality" and justifies this by citing "reasons of protection of fundamental rights, effective equality between men and women, public safety, and democratic coexistence." Furthermore, the members of the Catalan Parliament have added an additional provision urging the Spanish government to approve a bill delegating to Catalonia the powers to issue national identity cards (DNI), border control regarding the return of foreign nationals—which was included in the law agreed between Junts and the PSOE that the lower house It fell a few months ago—and the exercise of all common functions in ports and airports.

The Junts norm maintains that the "defense of religious freedom" is "compatible" with the "protection of equality, public safety, and human dignity" and argues that pluralism "cannot become a shield for practices that materialize structural inequality." Thus, the Junts members want to prohibit garments that "reinforce the subordination of women" as a "measure to protect rights" and "not as a moral sanction." They claim that the regulation is "objective and proportionate" and is "limited to cases in which covering the face prevents effective identification," which is a "basic element for guaranteeing public safety."

The political debate

Patxi López has denounced the "xenophobic and stigmatizing premises" of Vox's proposal and accused the far right of wanting to "stoke hatred" and of trying to "exploit the supposed dignity of women to turn it into a source of confrontation and promote exclusion." However, the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) is open to discussing this issue with the members of the Catalan Parliament. Along similar lines, the Catalan Government has maintained that this is a debate that must be opened, but in a "rigorous" manner and not in the wake of the far right. At a press conference, the Minister of Territory and spokesperson for the government, Sílvia Paneque, stated that the burka generates "unease" within Catalan society, and that it must be studied both from the perspective of "security" and from its nature as an element "of identity that can have elements of confrontation between people." Taking advantage of the window of opportunity opened by the Catalan government's position, the People's Party (PP) has already moved forward and registered a bill in the Catalan Parliament to ban the full-face veil in Catalonia. Ione Belarra, the general secretary of Podemos, criticized Junts: "They are ashamed to support Vox's bill even though they would like to. Unfortunately, the proposals are very similar. It's part of the competition they have with Aliança Catalana." She added that Vox is the "main threat" to women: "We don't need more prohibitions, but more rights," she said.

The spokesperson for Comunes in Congress, Aina Vidal, maintained that Vox's initiative "is not to protect women," but rather "is intended to provoke and generate racism," and said she believes that Junts "operates according to the same logic" as Santiago Abascal's party: "Does the piece bother you?" she was asked. "We will not fall into the traps of either Vox or Junts," she added. Finally, on behalf of Sumar, the parliamentary spokesperson, Verónica Martínez Barbero, denounced that Vox "does nothing to protect women," but only "seeks a framework of hatred."

The proposal of Junts in the Catalan Parliament

This debate It already shook things up a few months ago. Carles Puigdemont's party ultimately opted to also ban the Islamic veil in schools for girls under 16, even if it wasn't a full-face veil. This shift occurred in the midst of the electoral competition with Aliança Catalana, which had presented a motion in the Catalan Parliament against the Islamic veil. That motion failed to pass, and Vox, Alianza and the PP were left alone in supportingTogether, they thus respected the cordon sanitaire against the far right signed by the PSC, ERC, Comuns, the CUP, and the Junts party in the Catalan Parliament. At that time, Carles Puigdemont's party defended their vote against the far-right pro-independence motion and, at the same time, their position in favor of banning the Islamic veil in schools, as well as the burka, niqab, and burkini in public spaces. They did so by distancing themselves from Aliança Catalana: "You are crossing a much more serious line, the incitement of hatred; you are focusing on a specific group," then-Junts deputy David Saldoni told Sílvia Orriols. "Welcome to the far right," she replied.