Yolanda Díaz refuses to pardon Laura Borràs for a case of "alleged corruption"

BarcelonaThe Supreme Court This week, the sentence of four and a half years in prison was confirmed -in addition to 13 years of disqualification and a fine of 36,000 euros- for Laura Borràs for the crimes of prevarication and falsification of documents in the case of the Institution of Catalan Letters. In the sentence that the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) wrote almost two years ago, however, Pardon was recommended for the former speaker of the Parliament, a pardon that has already been endorsed by the Public Prosecutor's Office and which is the decision of the Spanish government. Would Pedro Sánchez's executive be willing to do so? This Saturday, the second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, spoke out on the matter, refusing to grant this measure of clemency in cases related to corruption. In an interview on Catalunya Ràdio and asked about this issue, Díaz replied: "These exceptional measures should not be accompanied by issues linked, presumably, to corruption."

The Spanish vice president has not commented on whether she believes that Junts will use this issue to condition the governability of the State - the state executive depends on Carles Puigdemont's party - but she did want to set out her position regarding the Borràs case for when the Spanish government must make a statement. Spanish President Pedro Sánchez has not spoken about it since the sentence of the former president of Junts became final, but he did take a position on the case when the TSJC published the sentence. At that time, Sánchez already cooled the possibility that the Spanish government would agree to pardon her:"This is a flagrant case of malfeasance and misuse of public resources."

The pardon recommended by the TSJC would be for half of the sentence and would leave it at two years in prison. In this way, without a criminal record, Borràs should not go to prison. The TSJC defended this measure of grace considering that the law punishes excessively for the crimes of prevarication and falsification of documents. To start the pardon process, the Supreme Court will first send the sentence to the TSJC and this court will call a hearing with all the parties to start the process of executing the resolution. It is here where the pardon can be put on the table. Borràs has already said that he will not claim it, but he has asked for amnesty (to which the prosecution If the pardon option fails, the former president of the Parliament could also go to the Constitutional Court with an appeal for protection that could suspend her imprisonment.

Notice from Juntos for the reduction of the working day

Beyond the pardon for the former president of Junts, Díaz has taken advantage of this Saturday's interview and the event she held in Viladecans with the Comuns to call on Junts to accept the reduction of the working day to 37.5 hours. The Minister of Labour has explained that she is in talks with Carles Puigdemont –with whom she has spoken this week– to convince the members of the council. However, the party's general secretary, Jordi Turull, has warned that they will not support the reduction of the working day if the Spanish government does not open up to introducing changes to the proposal. "If Yolanda Díaz does not want to modify a single comma of the proposal she has made, Junts' 'no' is assured," he warned in statements to the media from Lleida. Turull considers that as it is now presented, the proposal is "a mistake" because it "weakens social dialogue and collective bargaining" and would have "devastating effects", especially among small and medium-sized businesses.