What do you vote for, parties or people? In general, I recommend focusing more on the parties, that is to say, on the ideology or the program that inspires them, rather than on the proper names at the helm. People pass, organizations remain. And if they don't remain, it is often precisely because of hyper-leadership. That is what happened to Pujol’s Convergència. Sooner or later, we will have to see what happens to Puigdemont’s Junts. At the same time, it is also true that without a strong leader it is difficult to keep any organization cohesive: whether it is a party, an institution, a company, or an association. The balance between the group and the personality that heads it is never simple.

Nine years later, Lluís Puig returned yesterday to his city, Terrassa, where he was received with tears of emotion by the people of Terrassa who every day, for more than 3,000 days, have met in the evening to sing for freedom. Oriol Junqueras and Raül Romeva were also honored in Sant Vicenç dels Horts. Puig will go to Parliament this afternoon and will sit in his seat, until now occupied by a yellow ribbon. The discourse of those amnestied oscillated between returning to where we were and the idea that they have won a battle against Spain. Is that so?

Those who were political prisoners are already amnestied. This morning, the minister Lluís Puig tweeted:

Two years and four months after it came into force, the amnesty has fully reached those convicted of embezzlement in the Procés trial. The Supreme Court, led by Manuel Marchena, has applied the law to four members of the 1-O Government who were disqualified until 2030 and 2031: Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, Dolors Bassa and Raül Romeva. In this way, they regain all political rights and will be able to run for elections again, hold public office or, for example, return to teaching at the public university. The final green light for the pardon comes just over seven years after the Supreme Court's sentence and five years after they left prison thanks to pardons. The decision, taken reluctantly and entering into a dialectical battle with the Constitutional Court (TC), is Manuel Marchena's penultimate intervention in the judicial persecution of the October 1st referendum. His last dance will be the application of the total amnesty to Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Lluís Puig, who are still waiting. Before that, Pablo Llarena will need to conclude the summary, a final step he will take in the coming days.

The battle of Gabriel Rufián to unite the Spanish left will still provide chapters to be written. Despite the pact reached on Sunday that makes him the head of the list for ERC with an understanding with Podemos, which allows him to campaign across Spain, the spokesperson in Madrid has stepped forward to ensure that he is still working to unite Oriol Junqueras' organization with the progressive parties of the State. "I will try until the end," he said on X.

After a week of negotiations, ERC has confirmed that Gabriel Rufián will be the party's candidate in the upcoming general elections. It did so in a statement in which it announced that he will be the number one on the republicans' list for Barcelona. According to Rufián's circle, he has reached an understanding with Podem so that the purple party "does not run in Catalonia" and asks for the vote for ERC, something that sources from Oriol Junqueras' party leadership confirm.

The former president of the Generalitat Carles Puigdemont has declared the end of the "political repression" stage following the 1-O, after the Constitutional Court fully endorsed the amnesty. The decision represents, he said, a defeat for the various Spanish public powers that have put obstacles in the way of the law's application "for strictly political reasons." The institutional appearance of the former head of Government took place this afternoon, a few hours after the Supreme Court also announced the lifting of his arrest warrant, which represents the first definitive step for him to return from exile to Catalonia. The leader of Junts has claimed the "enormous political importance" of the law, which disavows the repression and makes it evident that "this was not the way." However, he warned that the political conflict with the State remains in force: "In terms of the Catalonia-Spain relationship, nothing is solved today [...]. The amnesty is not in itself a solution," he claimed from Waterloo.

Immersed in pragmatism and a negotiating strategy, Esquerra went on vacation shoring up the governability of Salvador Illa after approving the Government's first budgets and thus giving oxygen to the legislature. Oriol Junqueras' party has long maintained that its goal is to be "useful" to Catalonia and that the negotiating strategy, that of trying to wrest sovereignty gains from the State, is the one they consider optimal. For this reason, this autumn is especially key for the republicans, because they have several commitments on the table that the Spanish government must fulfill before the next general elections (whether they are brought forward or not). We are talking, for example, about the forgiveness of part of the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA) debt and also the new financing model. "We have no problem acknowledging that we will negotiate until the very last moment," point out republican sources.

It has been almost two months since the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) endorsed the amnesty, but, for the moment, nothing has been done. Spanish courts keep numerous cases blocked, even those directly affected by the CJEU's decision, such as that of the CDR and the Court of Auditors. The latest decision, this Thursday, comes from the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), which keeps the case against Josep Maria Jové and Lluís Salvadó, two of the officials of the sub-government of October 1st, suspended. The TSJC presented a preliminary ruling to European justice in 2024 asking whether embezzlement could be amnestied. Since the CJEU has not yet responded to this question, the magistrates Fernando Lacaba, Jesús María Barrientos and Carlos Ramos –who signed the interlocutory order–, reaffirm their decision to continue waiting.

More pressure on the Spanish government from its investiture allies. ERC leader Oriol Junqueras has asked the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, this Monday to be "quick and effective" in "resolving" the migratory crisis in Ceuta. And he has set clear limitations on reception. In an interview on Catalunya Ràdio, he warned that "neither Catalonia nor anyone can host infinitely," with regard to the underage migrants who have arrived in the Spanish enclave in North Africa. The Republican has emphasized Catalonia's willingness to help, although there are "limits" such as the executive, which he has harshly criticized, fulfilling and "monitoring the borders."

The enemies of Catalonia and the cause of its freedom, as well as the reasons for the Principality's various defeats throughout history, such as in the War of Succession, have been detailed this Friday by the president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, at the Catalan Summer University in Prada de Conflent. The republican leader reviewed the reasons for the defeats against Castile and related them to the struggle in recent years with the 'Procés'. Who today opposes the independence aspirations of some Catalans? Is the PSC part of this bloc? Junqueras dodged the questions posed to him in Prada, eventually resorting to a name: "For example, Albert Rivera." Seven years after his resignation and the dismantling of Ciutadans, Junqueras still remembers the orange party and its most representative leader as a symbol of anti-Catalonia, of the internal enemy that hinders progress and makes national liberation difficult.

The leader of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, has proposed a major political, social, and technical pact for a team of experts to lead the Department of Education for a decade, thus setting aside the partisan struggle and the professional bad blood in which the system has become mired. In the middle of August, the proposal has all the makings of passing without a ripple. The school year will probably start again in September with strikes. And the results of the botched PISA test will be made public. In other words, we will remain stuck in educational defeatism, which is the sure path to failure as a country. Does anyone else have any ideas to break the vicious cycle and enter a virtuous one?

The president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, has raised in an interview with Europa Press the need for Catalonia to opt for a broad agreement between all political parties of democratic tradition, social and economic agents –management teams, unions and teachers– to overcome the current deadlock in the educational system, evidenced by "the strikes of recent months and the incident that "has prevented Catalonia from participating in the PISA report. According to Junqueras, this pact should be based on a model of shared, stable, and long-term governance (he proposes it be "for 8 or 12 years") with the creation of teams of experts of recognized prestige and trust within the sector, regardless of their political affiliation and of who governs the Generalitat during these terms.

The ruling of the CJEU on the amnesty law has caused a ripple effect. In recent days, the Supreme Court has rushed to close six cases that were on its table and had been pending for months. However, despite this sudden awakening, the fourteen people who have benefited from the penal oblivion law do not – strictly speaking – have anything to do with Luxembourg's endorsement. It was a filter that the high court implicitly set and which has ended up being the pretext for keeping all these cases frozen for nine months, given that last October the Constitutional Court had explicitly given the green light to apply the law.

The uncertainty about the application of the amnesty law to the leaders of the Procés has left a judicial labyrinth open. Waiting to see if the Supreme Court will apply the CJEU ruling, within this labyrinth there is a path that is still unresolved and leaves an open question: in case of a hypothetical non-application of the amnesty, is it possible to open the file for a second pardon to erase what was left pending? At the time, the Spanish government partially pardoned the leaders of the Procés – it was the only possible way after the sentencing court opposed the measure of grace – that is, they forgave them the prison sentence, but kept intact the disqualification penalty that affected Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, Raül Romeva and Dolors Bassa, who were also convicted of embezzlement. This disqualification, for example, prevents the current leader of ERC from running in an election –as he has shown himself willing to do– or to teach.

The Constitutional Court (TC) will hold the first debate on amnesty for the leaders of the Procés on September 22, as ARA has learned. It will be within the framework of the amparo appeal filed by the former minister and now general secretary of Junts, Jordi Turull, whose rapporteur is magistrate José María Macías. With this first discussion, the Constitutional Court will begin deliberations that both the Spanish government and the independence movement hope will end with resolutions favorable to the amnesty for former president Carles Puigdemont; ERC leader Oriol Junqueras, and the rest of the convicted or processed former ministers. In fact, this is the step that was already foreseen for the autumn, after the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concluded that the expenses related to the 1-O "do not affect the financial interests of the European Union. This week there was also a plenary session of the Constitutional Court, but they considered that they did not have enough time to address the issue before the holidays.

The day after the European justice's endorsement of the amnesty everyone builds their own narrative. While the independence movement celebrates the ECJ's decision, but warns that this does not end the repression, both the Catalan and Spanish governments see their "reconciliation" agenda validated and claim the end of the "political crisis" between Catalonia and the State. Moreover, the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has assured that if he "were Carles Puigdemont" he would return to Spain, "without a doubt". "We must face up to it once and for all," he said in an interview with RNE, as reported by Efe. This attitude has not pleased Junts at all, as the arrest warrant remains in effect and the former president would be arrested. "What misery and frivolity," replied the party's general secretary, Jordi Turull. After this, party sources consulted by ARA reaffirm their break with the Spanish government, also after the ECJ's ruling in favor of amnesty.

The judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the amnesty was a very relevant step to achieve legal backing from Europe for the rule approved in the Congress of Deputies, as it is the first time it has ruled on the measure to end the criminal proceedings of the Procés. It has done so by endorsing the spirit of the legislator: the normalization of the political situation in Catalonia in favor of "reconciliation". However, what are the practical effects of this resolution? When will former president Carles Puigdemont be able to return? When will Oriol Junqueras and the former political prisoners stop being disqualified?

The independence movement celebrates the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to endorse the European fit of the amnesty law. News that, in theory, should accelerate its application by all courts that have so far refused to do so. But there is one that, for the moment, does not feel addressed. The Supreme Court will continue to not amnesty Carles Puigdemont, Oriol Junqueras, and the rest of the leaders convicted of embezzlement, according to sources consulted by ARA. What room does it have to do so? For now, whatever it wants, despite the legal services of Junts and ERC denouncing that it has been breaking the law for months.

Great news: the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has largely endorsed the amnesty law.It found it to be in accordance with EU law, because it considered that the amnesty is not contrary to the financial interests of the European Union, nor is it contrary to the directive on terrorism (the crime for which some CDRs had been prosecuted). It goes further, emphatically: the CJEU states that the amnesty does not harm equal treatment, in the sense that it was a law only intended to favor some, but rather it was approved "in a real context of political and social reconciliation" and therefore does not constitute a "self-amnesty". With this ruling, the Court of Auditors should file its cases, and the National Court, too. And the Supreme Court, of course. But at the moment I'm speaking to you, the arrest warrant for Carles Puigdemont or the disqualification of Oriol Junqueras is still in place. And it is quite likely that they will wait until autumn to lift them, which is when the Constitutional Court will issue a ruling on the Supreme Court's refusal to apply the amnesty. To put it this way, Carles Puigdemont is one step closer to returning to Catalonia, and now it seems it is only a matter of a few months.The CJEU ruling is great news, but that the amnesty is not fully applied is a disgrace that can only be explained by the "a por ellos!". It is important to remember where we come from: the TS prosecuted the political prisoners for rebellion, a crime that should have required armed violence, it condemned for sedition, which would also have required violence, and now it refuses to apply the amnesty for embezzlement, for which there has also been none. It is a deployment of creative, patriotic justice.The president Illa made a statement in Catalan, Spanish, and English :“I appear before all of you to express my satisfaction and that of the Government of Catalonia for the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union. An explicit ruling, which endorses Organic Law 1/2024 on amnesty for the institutional, political, and social normalization of Catalonia. The highest instance of European justice has spoken clearly: the law complies with European law. Europe says 'yes' to amnesty, Catalonia says 'yes' to the future. The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union is very good news for Catalonia, for Spain, and for democracy. There is no turning back. The amnesty law is part, with all its consequences, of our legal framework, and therefore, its application is mandatory.”