Pope Leo XIV has not yet set foot in Catalonia and we are already saturated with religious events thanks to an extraordinarily devout television. TVE's La 1 is assuming the broadcast of all ceremonies with unprecedented faith and joy. To top it off, in some television slots (for example, Monday afternoon), it offered triple coverage: La 1, La 2, and the 24h channel in unison offering the same religious content.Beyond the bows and kisses on the hand at the airport, of all the experts praising the Pope with devotion and of the teenagers singing mass songs in front of the public TV microphone, the profile of the parishioner that has been shown to us in the mass events in Madrid stands out. The same way of dressing, with shared color tones, a certain social class, a very similar family style, and medals hanging from the neck that seem mass-produced. In this era of religious fervor that we have to endure and that transcends the Church itself, television shows us a believer of a certain homogeneity in appearance and conduct that distorts the idea of faith and confuses it with status and an ideological temperament.With the Pope's visit to the Congress of Deputies, television showed us another type of uniformity that is very unusual in the broadcasts that normally reach us from there. In recent years, in the hemicycle we have seen shouts, grimaces, aggressive confrontations, contempt, and unpleasant gesticulations that the deputies directed at each other. On Monday morning, beyond the red carpet and the pomp to receive the Vatican authority, in the seat of legislative power we discovered docile and quiet deputies lining up to greet the pontiff. In the hemicycle, all together in their seats, very elegant and polite. Full to the brim, even to the visitors' balconies. In some programs, they even revealed that the authorities had only spent two minutes in the stands to go through the motions. All attentive to the Pope's words and, to conclude the speech, La 1 emphasized that the seven minutes of applause the deputies had dedicated to him were a record for a parliamentary ovation. In times of polarization and maximum political tension, it turns out that the audience, from their homes, observes that the one who holds conciliation power in the State, believe it or not, is the Church. A Church that does not precisely have very democratic values. Not only because of its convictions regarding abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, or equality between men and women, but also because it is an institution that has inflicted much pain with sexual abuse and has remained silent about its crimes. What message does a Pope give to citizens, giving a sermon from the presidential lectern of Congress with all the deputies acting as obedient altar boys? An ultraconservative one, with the Church and faith as the only possible unifier, which does not correspond to that of a non-confessional state nor to the values of a large part of the citizenry.

At eight in the morning, twenty PP deputies were already queuing to enter the Congress of Deputies. On days when there is a joint session with the Senate, the hemicycle becomes small and it is difficult to fit. And this Monday, which was a historic day in Madrid, some were afraid of not finding a seat. The Pope's visit is an exceptional mobilization of resources and organization, even for those accustomed to dealing with state and international authorities. To give the reader an idea: while Leo XIV arrived at 10:30 at the Carrera de San Jerónimo, Congress opened its doors at 7:30 so that both parliamentarians and journalists could enter and have the necessary credentials (to reach today, considerable paperwork has been required). In addition, although the press normally moves up and down with some freedom around the hemicycle and the courtyard of Congress, this Monday the place to follow the event had to be chosen: the courtyard to see the arrival accompanied by music; the tribune inside the hemicycle or from the usual press facilities. What's more: at the end of the event, the deputies had to wait a few minutes inside the plenary until the Pope's entourage dispersed and they could circulate normally.

For the first time in history, the Pope has delivered a speech to Congress. In a hemicycle dressed in gala for the occasion and on a visit that he wanted to serve as a "gesture of closeness" towards Spain, Leo XIV has once again fully entered the Spanish political debate to fundamentally amend the postulates of the far-right regarding immigration. He has once again referred to the "tragic migratory drama" and has reproached the national priority that the PP and Vox have recently agreed upon in the autonomous communities. "Where a person is discriminated against because of their national, ethnic, religious or linguistic origin, the universal principle of the equal dignity of all human beings is seriously violated," he proclaimed. "The situation of migrants and refugees demands a response that looks at people," he added. Likewise, he has put forward a "double demand for social justice" with immigrants: they must be offered "safe and legal pathways," a "respectful welcome," and "real opportunities for integration," and, in parallel, the "right to stay in their own land" must be promoted by working to ensure that "no one has to leave their home." Precisely on Thursday, the Pope will travel to the Canary Islands, which is the final destination of the most dangerous migratory route in Europe.

This afternoon, the Government and education unions are meeting, to see if they can reach an agreement to call off the mobilizations that continue to be scheduled for the coming weeks and until the end of the school year. The Government has proposed advancing by one year the salary increase agreed with UGT and CCOO, more money for tutoring allowances, and a reinforcement of staff for inclusive schools. Positions are far apart. The conflict seems far from being resolved. However, the Government breathes more calmly after securing the 'yes' from Esquerra to the budgets.But the political news continues to be strongly conditioned by Zapatero's indictment, which has fallen like a bomb on Sánchez's government. Because Zapatero was, as Feijóo told Sánchez this morning, "his moral compass." In the control session of the Spanish government in the Congress of Deputies, a defensive Sánchez was seen. Listening to him, whether he was answering Feijóo or Rufián, it seems clear that Zapatero's indictment is already hitting the government's core, that there are not many more arguments left in Moncloa to defend themselves, and that it is now all about repeating that the elections will be next year and will not be brought forward.Where does this impression come from? Well, from the fact that instead of convincingly denying any possibility of corruption, Sánchez recalled Zapatero's merits: that he ended ETA, that he took Spain out of the Iraq war, that he got same-sex marriage approved… Even, Sánchez has brought out the worn-out card of Feijóo's photos on a narco's boat, in Galicia, years ago. And Feijóo has felt brave enough to twist Aznar's call to action (“he who can, let him do it”) and has transformed it into “he who can, let him steal”.Then it was Rufián's turn to ask, who with a desolate tone, as if someone in his family had died, almost implored Sánchez to give “some answer”. To Zapatero, the man who defeated the PP against all odds that very tough weekend in March 2004, the populars really want him. But today, in Congress, the feeling has been that the imputation of justice has decimated the reserves of conviction, which were already meager, that remained in the Spanish left.Good morning.

The Ministry of Finance has on the table a bill proposed by non-profit foundations that manage social housing, such as Habitat3 or Provivienda. The entities – grouped under the ALIVAS umbrella – want to create a new legal figure with the aim of expanding this segment of the residential market in Spain, the "social housing providers". According to sources from the Spanish government, they explain to ARA, the intention is for the law to reach Congress "as soon as possible", and for the socialist group to process it because the process is "faster" and has "fewer procedures" if done through parties.

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs appeared urgently this Thursday in Congress to report on the actions taken to demand the immediate release of the Palestinian-Catalan citizen Saif Abukeshek, who was detained by Israel in international waters and is currently held by an Israeli court. "He is a European citizen," he reaffirmed in his first statement, and once again demanded his immediate release. Last week, Israel intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla en route to Gaza to provide humanitarian aid and, although it released most of the activists, it is holding Abukeshek and the Brazilian Thiago Ávila, accused of terrorism. As a protest, Saif Abukeshek is on a hunger and thirst strike. In his statement, Albares promised to increase all diplomatic pressure for his release, but also referred to the situation in Iran, demanding that they also release the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi. Albares' position was not supported by the PP, which clashed, once again, with the Spanish government.

When Gabriel Rufián takes out a 50 “bucks” bill and reads the names of the seven Junts deputies from the podium of Congress, is he thinking about himself and the thousands of likes he will get on social media, or is he thinking about tenants and Esquerra voters? Because it is as evident that he felt satisfied as it is that this superb performance is the underlining used by those who believe that voters don't realize much and need someone to draw them a picture with fluorescent markers and many arrows, because today nobody listens to arguments anymore and people no longer read newspapers. Does he think they don't know that Junts voted against the rent extension and that, just in case, a public shaming was necessary?

Yesterday Junts played hard in Congress. It overturned the investment consortium and the rental decree.Regarding the extension of rents, Junts reproached Sumar for having a "systematic allergy to all landlords". And regarding the consortium, it said that Catalonia does not need more "side businesses" but rather to receive the money it is owed.There is no surprise in Junts' position, on either issue. Regarding rents, Junts relies on the fact that, in Catalonia, 90% of the apartment rental market is in the hands of small landlords, and only 10% in investment funds. It seeks to position itself as a defender of the interests of tenants who bear the pressure of the historic lack of public rental supply. However, voting against this extension has a social cost that yesterday Gabriel Rufián solemnized with two gestures: displaying a banknote and pointing out the Junts deputies one by one. Gabriel Rufián: "Do you know what your flag is? Do you know what it is? I have it here. It's small, but it's very effective. And besides, one of the ones you like... Fifty bucks. It could be more. I'll leave it here. This is your flag. The one you share with the PP and with Vox. To screw almost three million people. I want people to know them. They are Josep Maria Cervera, Josep Pagès, Pilar Calvo, Isidre Gavín, Marta Madrenas, Josep Maria Cruset and Miriam Nogueras”.

In the Congress, everyone points out that, more and more, it seems the lions aren't just staying at the door. Last Tuesday, the one who showed his claws was José María Sánchez García, a VOX deputy since 2019, who, in the middle of a debate to document the burning of books during Francoism, and after being expelled from the session, climbed onto the table and confronted the presidency of the Congress. "The only thing I was thinking was where the slap would come from", admitted hours later the socialist Alfonso Rodríguez Gómez de Celis, who at that moment was chairing the plenary session in place of Francina Armengol.

The journalist and political scientist Estefania Molina (Igualada, 1991) speaks to ARA after publishing Els fills dels boomers (Destino), in which she points out the baby boom generation as the only leg supporting the system: it acts as a plaster to prevent social unrest and, at the same time, prevents, she believes, political reform. A commentator in media such as La Ser or El País, she admits that with this book she wanted to go beyond analysis and take sides.

It was no longer decisive, but their vote was one of the last unknowns in the vote on the decree with tax cuts for the Iran war. The PP plans to abstain, according to popular sources. However, Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party still leaves the door open to a vote in favor if there is a last-minute turn by the Spanish government. What should happen? That Pedro Sánchez's executive commits during the debate, which will take place this Thursday, to deflating personal income tax. For the PP, the package of measures approved last Friday by the Council of Ministers is still "insufficient". However, they will not vote against it because it "includes part of its proposal for tax cuts".

Junts per Catalunya gives the Spanish government a breather and will save the decree which contains fiscal measures to mitigate the effects of the Iran-Iraq War. Among other things, it includes a reduction in VAT on fuel, electricity, and gas. This was announced by the Junts per Catalunya spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies, Miriam Nogueras, in an interview with TV3. She linked it to a gesture by the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) in favor of exempting self-employed workers with an annual turnover of less than €85,000 from VAT. How should this gesture take the form of a vote in favor of a point in a non-binding motion—a non-legislative initiative, known as a PNL, which is not legally binding—presented by Junts and scheduled for a vote on Thursday. "We expect them to vote yes to supporting the self-employed; therefore, they will have our vote in favor of the decree," said Nogueras, even though its approval would not have immediate effects unless the Spanish government takes any concrete action. "We know that they want to transpose this directive and that, indeed, small self-employed workers will have a little more breathing room," Nogueras stressed in this regard.

After the clash with the PSOE within the council of ministers On Friday, Sumar is now focusing all its pressure on Junts and the PP to ratify the extension of rental contracts and the limitation on price increases. This is the second decree approved in addition to the one on tax cuts: it has been in effect since Sunday, but it needs the approval of Congress—with the decisive vote of Junts—to remain valid. Early Monday morning, in an interview on RNE, the Second Vice President of the Spanish government, Yolanda Díaz, made it clear that the vote will be "the last day" to extend the validity period as much as possible to validate the measure. Thus, Moncloa will have thirty working days to bring this decree-law to the lower house, which places the parliamentary review in the first week of May. "The three right-wing parties have to explain why they are harming the citizens of our country," Díaz said. Shortly afterwards, on TVE, the Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, called for the "biggest pressure campaign" to get the lower house to give the green light.

The opposition from Esquerra Republicana, along with the rejection by the PP, Vox, and UPN, has sunk the law promoted by the PSOE in Congress to lower the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers from 0.5 grams per liter to 0.2. This legislation had been stalled for a year. It is the first time this legislative term that the Republicans have rejected a law promoted by the Spanish government – ​​in the previous term they did so with the labor reform, which passed thanks to a mistake by the PP. The decision comes – precisely – on the same day that the PSC and ERC agreed that the Catalan Government withdraw the Generalitat's budgets To prevent Salvador Illa from suffering a parliamentary setback on Friday, MP Inés Granollers argued during the debate in the lower house's Interior Committee that "this law won't prevent accidents; what it will do is cause a lot of frustration." The Republican MP lamented that the Socialists were "cowards" for establishing a rate around 0.0 and argued that the law was "very cynical" and contained a "false promise." However, the PSOE, Sumar, Junts, Bildu, and the PNV supported it, with 18 votes in favor and 19 against. The ERC's position was that the "best" rate would have been to prohibit drivers from drinking a single drop of alcohol, but not only that. The Republicans also advocated for early retirement for professional drivers—they presented an amendment to this effect—and for reducing the number of hours they can spend behind the wheel. Furthermore, they had long been demanding more driving examiners in Catalonia to end the backlog of waiting lists. In fact, there was a call this morning between ERC and Pere Navarro, the Director General of Traffic, but the conversation was unproductive. "The truth is, we haven't received an adequate response," summarized Inés Granollers.

The social safety net measures, which were rejected in Congress on Thursday by the PP, Vox, and Junts parties, protected 60,000 vulnerable people across Spain, some 13,000 of them in Catalonia. One of them is Francesca Cervelló. This 63-year-old resident of the Putxet neighborhood in Barcelona has been dreading this day for months. "What will I do now? What will happen to me?" she asks in a conversation with AHORA.

The left-wing and pro-independence parliamentary groups in Congress – ERC, Junts, Sumar, EH-Bildu, PNB, BNG, Compromís, and Podem – are calling for the creation of a committee in the lower house to investigate abuses, vexations, and deaths during compulsory military service. The parties signing this demand, which does not include the PSOE's signature, recall that in recent months numerous testimonies have emerged recounting "systematic situations of vexations, mistreatment, harassment, and physical and psychological aggressions suffered by recruits, as well as deaths occurring under not sufficiently clarified circumstances." This is detailed in the documentary They Will Make You a Man, which revealed that "many recruits suffered vexations, mistreatment, and aggressions in an environment that should guarantee their safety and well-being." The parties emphasize that official data from the Ministry of Defence places the number of "documented suicides in the armed forces between 1983 and 2001 at over 300, although various journalistic investigations and family testimonies suggest the figure could be higher, especially if deaths classified at the time as accidental are taken into account." Thus, they recall that "several families have learned years later that the death of their children was a suicide linked to the abuses and vexations suffered during their stay in barracks." In light of this evidence, the parties signing the petition consider that "these events do not correspond to isolated incidents, but rather point to a structural dynamic of impunity and institutional negligence, with devastating consequences for the victims and their surroundings." "The lack of exhaustive investigations, the institutional silence for decades, and the absence of recognition and reparation mechanisms have aggravated the suffering of those affected," they add. Clarifying the facts

Therefore, they believe it is necessary to formally activate institutional mechanisms to contribute to the clarification of facts, the recognition of victims, and the promotion of reparation measures, ensuring that the state-wide scope of the issue is assumed by the competent bodies. The objective of the investigation is to gather data on suicides and deaths in unclear circumstances and the denunciation of warnings linked to compulsory military service. Also, the analysis of possible institutional, political, and military responsibilities, public recognition of victims, the establishment of moral, symbolic, and economic reparation mechanisms, or access to free legal assistance and psychological support for those affected and their families.

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The left-wing and pro-independence parliamentary groups in Congress—ERC, Junts, Sumar, EH-Bildu, PNV, BNG, Compromís, and Podemos—are calling for the creation of a commission in the lower house to investigate abuses, mistreatment, and deaths during mandatory military service. The parties behind this demand, which is not supported by the PSOE, point out that in recent months numerous testimonies have emerged detailing "systematic situations of mistreatment, abuse, harassment, and physical and psychological aggression suffered by recruits, as well as deaths under circumstances that remain unclear." This is detailed in the documentary.Et faran un homeThe report revealed that "many recruits suffered harassment, mistreatment, and assaults in an environment that should have guaranteed their safety and well-being." The parties emphasize that official data from the Ministry of Defense places the number of documented suicides in the armed forces between 1983 and 2001 at over "300, although various journalistic investigations and testimonies from family members suggest that the figure could be higher, especially if deaths classified at the time as accidental are taken into account." They also note that "several families have learned years later that their children's deaths were suicides linked to the abuse and mistreatment suffered during their time in the barracks." Given this evidence, the parties signing the petition believe that "these events are not isolated incidents, but rather point to a structural dynamic of impunity and institutional negligence, with devastating consequences for the victims and their families." "The lack of thorough investigations, decades of institutional silence, and the absence of mechanisms for recognition and redress have exacerbated the suffering of those affected," they add.

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One of the hottest debates this week in the Congress of Deputies It has been the burka ban promoted by VoxAlthough it failed to pass and only garnered the votes of the People's Party (PP), the far-right initiative opened the floodgates of discussion on the appropriateness of prohibiting the use of the full-face veil. Together for Catalonia (Juntos) presented a bill on the same day to ban it in public spaces—a text that the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) has agreed to consider—the PP followed suit two days later, and the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) has also submitted its own proposal. According to party sources, the Republicans are not in favor of prohibiting the full-face veil and imposing criminal penalties on women who violate it, but they do advocate for "discouraging" its use through mandatory community service. This is their "effective solution" to "end the burka" while preventing the measure from harming the women who wear it, they believe. "Making the burka a crime will isolate them even more," warned ERC leader Oriol Junqueras this week.

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The main function of the Congress of Deputies – along with the Senate – is to draft, process, and approve laws. Typically, the laws that end up being published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) originate from the Spanish government, which often initiates them through the Council of Ministers and then faces the challenge of securing the necessary votes for their passage. In contrast, it is very rare for parliamentary groups to manage to leave their own mark on the BOE. Yesterday's vote by approve the law against repeat offenders by Junts It is a rare elderly In recent years, this hadn't been seen since 2018, and this legislative term hadn't even begun. However, this had become commonplace. Since 2011, it was a rare phenomenon—three times with Mariano Rajoy in La Moncloa, already without an absolute majority, and twice with Pedro Sánchez—but previously, Spanish presidents had reached agreements with the parliamentary groups to pass their legislative proposals. In total, 72 laws.

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The Spanish legislature often hangs by a thread. The devilish arithmetic left by the June 23rd elections forces Pedro Sánchez to work incredibly hard in every vote. One of the areas where the Spanish government struggles most is in the ratification of royal decree-laws, regulations approved by the Council of Ministers that require the endorsement of Congress. This legislature has seen five repealed, the same number as in the previous 45 years. It is no surprise that the two usual allies who have most frequently abandoned the Moncloa Palace are Junts and Podem. In contrast, Esquerra Republicana is the only partner that has voted in favor of all 31 royal decree-laws promoted by the Spanish government and submitted to a vote in the lower house. The Republicans, along with the PNV, are the only ones with a specific clause in their legislation. the investiture agreement which they signed with the PSOE in which they commit to "providing stability" to the legislature "in parallel with fulfilling the commitments made" through the "willingness to approve," among other things, the decree laws.

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