On July 20, 2010, Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds (ICV) said goodbye to the historic headquarters it had on Ciutat de Barcelona street, next to City Hall, to move to a much larger and more modern one –inside, not outside– a few minutes' walk away. In Rellotge passage, with access from a gate on Escudellers street, the eco-socialists were there until 2019, when, drowning in debt, they had to resort to bankruptcy proceedings to liquidate the party that was the heir to the PSUC. In the midst of the real estate bubble, that new headquarters had cost 7.5 million euros –including a significant renovation–, financed mainly by CaixaBank. Seven years later, that building that ended up condemning the party is for sale on the real estate portal Building Center –CaixaBank's real estate subsidiary– for 1.75 million euros. It is no longer owned by ICV, but by the same financial institution, which has taken possession of it due to the impossibility of selling it during the bankruptcy proceedings.

The seal on the agreement was put by Salvador Illa and Oriol Junqueras in a meeting of just over two hours at the Palau de la Generalitat on Tuesday afternoon. But the pact had been being forged since the previous weekend after days of deadlock. At the Palau and at the PSC headquarters, the strategy of buying time to avoid a parliamentary defeat that would have left the executive shaken eventually prevailed. The party's number 2, Lluïsa Moret, had a lot to do with it, explain various sources to ARA. But to limit the damage, the socialists demanded, in return, a commitment from the republicans to stop positioning the IRPF as a red line. All this, to reset the clock. To get here, however, the conversations went through ups and downs, from tense meetings to lunches and homemade doughnuts to save the negotiation.

Oriol López (Mollet del Vallès, 1978) is the deputy general secretary of ERC and one of the party's negotiators in the talks with the Government that, for the moment, have led to the withdrawal of a budget that was already being processed, for the first time.

The ministers from the Sumar coalition refused to begin the meeting until their demands were met: essentially, the inclusion of rental contract extensions in the measures to address the war in Iran. Their two-hour walkout before Friday's cabinet meeting was resolved with the enactment of two decrees, not just one as the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) had intended, to include tax cuts for the most affected sectors. Sumar touted this resolution on Saturday, taking a swipe at their socialist partners. "Without Sumar, there is no government," the movement's coordinator, Lara Hernández, reiterated in a statement without taking questions. A threat to the socialists? The party, still led by Yolanda Díaz, has no intention of leaving the government or jeopardizing the coalition in the face of a potential PP (People's Party)-Vox majority. In fact, Hernández herself emphasized that it is precisely the influence Sumar can wield that makes "being in government worthwhile."

John von Neumann was not particularly fond of lanterns –Deception—in poker games—but the father of Game Theory recognized its usefulness in keeping any zero-sum negotiation on edge. Of course, he also warned that one had to know how to play them. To begin with, the success of any lantern It depends on whether the other party—Von Neumann's study focused primarily on two-way negotiations—can consider it plausible. And this is precisely where the negotiating strategy between ERC and PSC regarding the 2026 budget has failed. Salvador Illa set a deadline, March 20, for the Republicans to stop dragging their feet and engaging in a game of chicken—another concept from Game Theory, which explains that both sides move toward the precipice without wanting to be the first to concede—that has ended in a stalemate. The PSC and ERC have given each other more time because it was the only way to ensure that no one loses.

ERC invested Salvador Illa and Pedro Sánchez, and it is true that the only way for the Republicans to have any influence at the moment is for both of them to remain at the head of their governments. Esquerra has often been criticized for easily caving in to the demands of the PSC and PSOE, and these criticisms have often been justified. This baggage likely played a role in Illa's decision to force the legislature's hand by putting the Generalitat's budget to a vote – next Friday – without having finalized the agreement with his most important partner.

"Manresa cannot have an open door to the ocean and welcome everyone indiscriminately and without control". "We have to be able to say enough". "Manresa is saturated". "We have imported a model of delinquency from the Third World". "It cannot be that Catalonia has been the country that in the last 25 years has received the most immigration". "Manresa must be a more prosperous, safer, more ours, more Catalan city". The first three sentences were said by Ramon Bacardit (Junts). The last three by Sergi Perramon ("Avanç Nacionalista).

A All Battles (Column), lawyer Magda Oranich (Barcelona, 1945) records her tireless fight for human rights and, more particularly, for women's rights, after six decades of activism.

The emeritus king is "well" and "calm," despite the attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel. It hadn't occurred to me to worry about him, but this news published this Monday on RTVE It reminded me that, indeed, Juan Carlos I still lives in the Persian Gulf. His mansion in Abu Dhabi is under construction, and for the past few months, he has been staying in a luxury hotel in the United Arab Emirates. No one should worry, because the escalating conflict doesn't seem likely to prevent him from returning to Sanxenxo this month to participate in the regattas.

Catalonia contributed €77.742 billion to the state coffers in 2022 (19.3% of the total for all autonomous communities) and received €56.650 billion (14% of the total). This means that Catalonia's fiscal deficit was €21.092 billion. These figures come from the latest fiscal balances calculated by the Generalitat (Catalan government), which ARA has accessed, and which will be made public this Friday as soon as the government approves the draft budget for 2026. Catalonia's fiscal deficit stood at 8.2% of GDP, roughly in line with the average since 1986 (8.1%). Each Catalan, therefore, contributed €2,670 more than they received.

All the coup plotters claimed to be speaking on behalf of the king. This was the case with General Alfonso Armada, Lieutenant General Jaime Milans del Bosch, and Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero. But no one has ever been able to prove that they had Juan Carlos I's approval to attempt the coup d'état of February 23, 1981. The 153 documents declassified by the Spanish government this Wednesday, in fact, support the official narrative that the king was one of the saviors of democracy, the official title he was given from that day forward. The king spoke with Milans del Bosch and Armada to demand that they stand down, and his personal secretary, Sabino Fernández Campo, spoke with Tejero. who, in one of those coincidences that seem worthy of conspiracy theories, died this Wednesday at the age of 93

Six members of Spanish intelligence services were involved in the 23-F coup attempt. This is what the Higher Center for Defense Intelligence (Cesid) —the previous version of the National Intelligence Center (CNI)— admits in an internal document that the Spanish government declassified this Wednesday. "Some members of this unit actively participated in the events of February 23," acknowledges Cesid after having carried out an investigation that concluded that six people "either knew about the events before the 23rd" or "planned operational support." This collaboration "they carried out" and "later tried to cover up their participation by activating an operation that would justify their movements" that day, the report states.

Six members of the Spanish intelligence services were involved in the attempted coup of February 23, 1981. This is admitted in a document by the Higher Center for Defense Information (CESID)—the former version of the National Intelligence Center (CNI)—which the Spanish government declassified on Wednesday. "Some members of this unit actively participated in the events of February 23," CESID acknowledges after conducting an internal and "discreet" investigation that concluded that six people "either knew about the events before the 23rd" or "planned operational support." The document highlights the name of Captain García Almenta, who, according to the document, gave "direct orders" to members of an elite CESID unit—called the Special Missions Operational Group (AOME)—which had a degree of autonomy, to assist the coup plotters.

Among the information declassified this Wednesday by the Spanish government regarding the attempted coup of February 23, 1981, are notes from the Spanish intelligence services. The then Higher Center for Defense Information (CESID) prepared one in early February 1982, almost a year after the events and a few weeks before the trial of those responsible, which recorded suspicions that Juan Carlos I had held "confidential and secretive interviews" with "some of the main" perpetrators of the 23-F coup. "It is asserted that, in fact, the King has met confidentially with Lieutenant General Milans del Bosch; it indicates that above all else, the aim is to ensure that the Crown is not harmed by the proceedings and that, in any case, attempts to do so do not originate from the main defendants and those with a known monarchist vocation," the CESID document states.

Political disagreement could lead to another budget extension in 2026. Such a decision always comes at a price: the government's planned spending increase, should the draft budget be approved, would rise by €9.1 billion compared to the 2023 budget, the last one approved to date. This figure was provided by the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero, in an interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN). But how many of these millions would be lost if there is no budget? Sources within the Department of Economy, consulted by the Ara newspaper (ARA), emphasize that at least €1.5 billion is at risk. These are funds earmarked for new projects, not included in previous budgets, and which, therefore, would be excluded from the budget extension according to the law.

On February 23, 1981, General Alfonso Armada entered Congress with a vision of a "national salvation government" and left under arrest after the coup attempt failed, due in part to infighting among the coup plotters. According to accounts published since then, that government would have included Armada himself as Prime Minister, along with the socialists Felipe González (Economic Vice President), Gregorio Peces-Barba (Justice), Javier Solana (Transport), and Enrique Múgica (Health); the communist deputies Jordi Solé Tura (Labor) and Ramón Tamames (Economy); from the UCD (Union of the Democratic Centre) Pío Cabanillas (Finance), José Luis Álvarez (Public Works), Miguel Herrero Rodríguez de Miñón (Education and Science), and Agustín Rodríguez (Industry); and from the Popular Alliance, Manuel Fraga (Defense) and Manuel Saavedra (Interior). Among those present were other military officers such as José Antonio Sáenz de Santamaría (Minister of Autonomy and Regions) and representatives of civil society, including the former Francoist minister José María López de Letona (Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs), Carlos Ferrer Salat (Minister of Commerce), Antonio Garrigues Walker (Minister of Culture), and Luis María Anson (Minister of Information).

The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, is pushing through the budget despite not having enough votes to pass it in Parliament. With the support of Comuns, but without that of ERC, the Catalan government will approve the bill on Friday in an extraordinary meeting of the executive council. "There's no going back. Catalonia needs a budget," the president stated. Illa, therefore, will not wait for the Republicans, who They remain entrenched in the No until they have guaranteed progress on the transfer of personal income tax revenue to the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC). The president made the announcement this Monday at an event with unions and employers' associations to sign an agreement on the budget, which serves to add pressure on Esquerra Republicana (ERC). For now, the Republicans are maintaining their position.

The republican front that Gabriel Rufián envisions as a way to stop the far right faces enormous resistance from the very parties that should be part of it. The primary opponent is, in fact, Esquerra Republicana. Since Wednesday's presentation in Madrid There is also a question that keeps echoing: if the fourteen left-wing parties Rufián mentions shouldn't compete against each other, who should run in each province? He didn't give a clear answer, but he did suggest that the brand should be decided based on electoral expectations in each specific territory. Probably, in the mind of the ERC spokesperson in Congress, his party would be the leading force of this left-wing front in Catalonia. But, of course, how would you determine who has the best prospects? Based on polls? Recent results? Each party's history?

The Catalan president's medical progress is positive, and Salvador Illa will return to the Palau de la Generalitat on Monday to resume his duties. Doctors have determined that he will need to continue intravenous antibiotic treatment and that his return to normal activity will be gradual, according to government sources. In fact, the president will continue to combine his work with rehabilitation and treatment. The president himself announced his return on Monday via a message to X. "On Monday, I will gradually return to work and my responsibilities as president of the Generalitat. I am returning with great enthusiasm, energy, and determination," he stated.

However much he now wrinkles his nose when asked about a possible renewal of the pact with Vox, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco was the first baron popular to embrace the far rightThe year was 2022, Alberto Núñez Feijóo had just become president of the PP, and the party was still trying to portray Vox as a party that couldn't be entrusted with governing duties. Feijóo pressured internally against the pact in Castile and León, thinking it was in his best interest to remain independent of the far right when the general elections came around. Soon, his absolute dependence on Vox forced him to change his strategy.