In an interview yesterday in La Vanguardia, the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo stated that Pedro Sánchez is delaying the application of the amnesty to Carles Puigdemont. It is not new. Before, Feijóo had already said that Sánchez has deceived Carles Puigdemont with the amnesty law.

Outside El Helicoide, the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service in Caracas, dozens of relatives of prisoners gathered this Saturday to await the release of their loved ones. As the afternoon wore on, a prerecorded message was broadcast over the phone in which Venezuela's new president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced a bill granting total amnesty to the political prisoners amassed in Venezuelan jails. The legislation covers "the entire period of political violence," from 1999, when Chávez came to power, to "the present." At the opening ceremony of the judicial year this Friday evening at the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of the South American country, Rodríguez tasked the Commission for Judicial Revolution and the Program for Democratic Coexistence and Peace with approving the bill "in the coming hours." And there is little doubt that the bill will be approved shortly. Deputies loyal to the current regime hold a majority in the Venezuelan Parliament, whose head is the president's brother, Jorge Rodríguez. "I once again request the full cooperation of the Venezuelan legislative branch. May this be a law that serves to heal the wounds left by political confrontation, violence, and extremism. May it serve to restore justice in our country and peaceful coexistence among Venezuelans," he stated. At El Helicoide, described as a center of "torture" by NGOs and opposition members, everyone was crying. "Freedom! Freedom!" some shouted. "God is good. God has heard us," Johana Chirinos, the aunt of a prisoner, told the Associated Press.

Some of the 400 people evicted yesterday in Badalona They spent the night on the street.

Some of the 400 people evicted yesterday in BadalonaThey spent the night on the street

The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, revealed this Wednesday in plenary session that, "on the recommendation of experts," all samples taken from the six centers or companies that have worked with outbreaks of African swine fever have been investigated. Part of the sequencing was carried out by the Biomedical Research Institute (IRTA), and another part was processed by the reference laboratory of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture. The last plenary session of the year was marked by the President's appearance regarding African swine fever, which he used to defend himself against criticism from the opposition regarding his handling of the outbreak, his absence during the first week of the crisis, and the possible origin in an IRTA laboratory. "With the data we have today, nothing allows us to conclude that the virus came from the facilities of any of the laboratories or centers that work with this virus," he stated without giving details, after the The Ministry of Agriculture did point in this direction.Having reviewed the protocols, he assured that he has "full confidence in those responsible at IRTA" because the "appropriate" procedures have been followed, but he was not categorical because the investigations are ongoing: "This is the information I have, but we cannot have conclusive information on the matter," he clarified.

It has been 522 days since the Official State Gazette The Official State Gazette (BOE) published the amnesty law, following a turbulent negotiation between the PSOE and Junts and attempts by the PP to torpedo it in the SenateHowever, the leaders of the October 1st referendum have still not fully benefited due to the Supreme Court's reluctance to apply it to the crime of embezzlement. Now, both they and the other defendants in the Catalan independence trial are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel: the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Dean Spielmann, This week, he has spoken out in support of the substantial scope of the standard.He makes minor criticisms, such as that the two-month period given for its implementation—which many courts have also failed to meet—is insufficient, but he defends the aim of political and social "reconciliation."

The opinion of the Advocate General of the European Union does not imply any final decision.But it is a good indicator for the Spanish government and the Catalan separatists regarding a favorable ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union. Although not binding, the fact that the Advocate General considers that the extinction of criminal liability does not affect the financial interests of the EU and that it is also possible to grant amnesty to terrorists is an endorsement of the work carried out by the multinational majority in Congress. But let's take it step by step: how does this translate into specific cases? How does it affect former president Carles Puigdemont? And the former political prisoners led by Oriol Junqueras?

The decision of Carles Puigdemont's defense to recuse three judges of the Constitutional Court (TC) The Constitutional Court (TC) had already predicted a delay in the timeframe for deciding on the amnesty for the former president of the Generalitat. This Thursday, the president of the Constitutional Court (TC), Cándido Conde-Pumpido, confirmed this at a luncheon with journalists. "It will be difficult for them to be resolved before Christmas," he said regarding the appeals for protection of constitutional rights by both Puigdemont and former ministers Toni Comín and Lluís Puig. Conde-Pumpido attributed this "delay" of at least a month compared to the initially planned timeframe—the TC expected to admit them for processing in early September, but will finally do so in next week's plenary session—to the court's decision to try to remove conservative judges José María Macías, Enrique Arnaldo, and Concepción Espejel.

The leader of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, will run as the party's candidate for the next Catalan elections, as Catalunya Ràdio and The Newspaper and the ARA has been able to confirm. The Republican leader, who regained the presidency of the party in December of last year, will make it official this Tuesday at a conference in Barcelona under the title A new national ambitionUntil now, Junqueras had resisted confirming his intention to run in the next Catalan elections, because he maintained that he was currently still disqualified from running and that, even if he wanted to, he couldn't.

Sánchez has managed to make his accusations about Israel cover everything up: the imprisonment of his deputy, Cerdán; the indictment of his brother and his wife; the difficulty in passing the budget; and the arms embargo in Israel. Sánchez's denunciation of the Palestinian tragedy is just, but the world doesn't end there, and he's being reminded of this by parties with which he has agreements, such as Esquerra and Junts, or those in the opposition, such as the PP.

Puigdemont's move in the Constitutional Court has not only disconcerted the members of the high court, but also several Junts leaders, who do not see the point in delaying the decision on the amnesty appeal. However, amid the confusion, there are sources that offer two possible explanations.

Less than 24 hours after the Constitutional Court (CC) was scheduled to take the first step in examining Carles Puigdemont's appeal against the Supreme Court's failure to apply the amnesty, the former president's defense team made a move that, in practice, meant delaying the procedure. recusal of three conservative judges The rulings—José María Macías, Enrique Arnaldo, and Concepción Espejel—automatically halted the processing of the appeal for protection, as happened this Tuesday in the plenary session of the Constitutional Court. Now the judicial body must consider whether to remove these judges, which could take at least a month. After that, it can consider lifting the arrest warrant and whether the amnesty is applicable in their case for the crime of embezzlement.

The Constitutional Court (CC) will hold a plenary session this coming week in which it will decide on whether to admit Carles Puigdemont's appeal for protection against the non-application of the amnesty by Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena. In the request, the Junts leader includes a request, as a precautionary measure, for the CC to order the judge to lift the current arrest warrant on Spanish soil.

So much talk about that meeting, and here it is. President Illa receives President-in-exile Puigdemont at the official headquarters of the Generalitat (Catalan government) in Brussels. After the press conference in front of the cameras, they went into a room and spoke privately for an hour and a half. Upon leaving, neither of them made any statements, and we must play the game of supposition. I'm sure you've drawn your own conclusions from these images. Here are ours:

Both came from very far away, and I'm not referring to the distance between Catalonia and Belgium. Isla had promised "no amnesty or anything like that," an expression that seemed like an echo of Sánchez when he made that other promise: "I will bring Puigdemont back to Spain." And Puigdemont had predicted that Illa would act as "the civil governor of Catalonia" to implement "a low-intensity Article 155." The only thing missing was the agreement between the PSC and PP to snatch the Barcelona mayoralty from Trias to further exacerbate Junts' hostility toward the PSC. But in July 2023, the voters had other plans, and Junts' seven votes in Congress brought them closer together. That's why this Tuesday, both parties turned necessity into virtue.

Puigdemont is once again in the hands of the Constitutional Court. He was in that position in the first instance until the court upheld the amnesty law. This has already been achieved, but it is not enough. Once this stage is over, the important thing is how the appeal for protection of constitutional rights he has filed with the same judicial body will be resolved. The response will not arrive for several months, but it may not be the final chapter. For now, the Constitutional Court is in no hurry to issue a ruling. It has no specific deadlines, and before discussing whether or not fundamental rights were violated in this case, it must first hear the parties involved. Furthermore, Puigdemont's request for a precautionary measure to lift the prison order, which remains in effect if he sets foot on Spanish territory, will not be modified immediately. The precautionary measure requested by the defense—led by lawyer Gonzalo Boye—is not one that usually succeeds. Quite the opposite.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has heard firsthand the arguments for and against amnesty during two hearings devoted to examining the preliminary questions submitted by the Court of Auditors and the National Court, as provided for in Article 257 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. We have had to come this far because the Spanish political and judicial right, despite this being an eminently domestic issue, decided some time ago to take its private war to all possible continental bodies, as before to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, in order to delay—rather than make it illusory.

Today's financing situation is more difficult than the attempt at amnesty. Because we're talking about money. What's more, we're talking about the money of the Catalans, which finances part of the well-being of Spaniards in other regions.

Santos Cerdán's sudden, bail-free imprisonment can be understood as a direct response by the Supreme Court to the Constitutional Court's ruling upholding the amnesty law. It is clearly a way of criminalizing amnesty and granting it to those it is granted to: Catalan separatists. The syllogism is clear: first premise, Santos Cerdán is corrupt; second premise, Santos Cerdán negotiated the amnesty; conclusion: the amnesty is corrupt. It is so obvious that no explanation is necessary, only rhetoric to give it gravity and a dark air of betrayal of Spain. Headlines like: "Santos Cerdán admits he negotiated the amnesty because it was essential for Pedro Sánchez's investiture" simply describe how political negotiations work, but suddenly these negotiations appear as what the right always repeats: something illegal, illegitimate, shameful, a betrayal of Spain. Garbage, as Felipe González said. On Monday, Santos Cerdán wasn't alone in the van entering Soto del Real prison: he was accompanied by the amnesty.

FLATTER

A well-known banker in this country explains the suggestion an advisor gave him before his first meeting with a well-known president of this country: "Fuck up on him a lot, and when you're done, start again." Perhaps no one is immune to the effects of flattery, but in the current political scene, it has become a genre in itself. The effect of flattery is proportional to the vanity of the flattered, which in the case of Donald Trump borders on pathology. When the environment isn't obsequious enough, he is the one who congratulates himself on his big, beautiful policies and his vast encyclopedic knowledge.

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