Tens of thousands of people took part, mostly supporters of the opposition center-right party
On Sunday, around 40,000 people demonstrated in Madrid, the capital of Spain, against the possibility that outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of the Socialist Party would grant an amnesty to all those involved in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum processes and the Spanish state classified as illegal.
Due to the long and complicated negotiations to form a government after the July 23 elections, the possibility of an amnesty by Sánchez is being discussed. No coalition has managed to achieve a majority, and forming a government and remaining prime minister requires the support of Junts, the center-right independence party founded by Carles Puigdemont, the former president of Catalonia In 2017 the region declared its secession from Spain following the referendum. Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium after the referendum and is still there, has made quite ambitious demands, including granting him and hundreds of other Catalan independence activists an amnesty.
Sunday’s demonstration was attended mainly by supporters of the center-right and opposition Popular Party (PP), whose leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo is the other possible candidate for prime minister. Demonstrators came to Madrid from all over Spain: there was even a rally by Feijóo himself, who accused Sánchez of “absolute lack of moral and political integrity” and wanted to degrade Spanish democracy.
The demonstration in Madrid against the possibility of an amnesty for Catalan independence activists (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
It is not yet known how Sánchez will respond to Puigdemont’s requests. On Sunday, while the protest demonstration was taking place in Madrid, he held a rally in Gava, near Barcelona. He did not mention the possibility of an amnesty for independents, but said his party wanted to “heal the social divisions caused by the Catalan crisis.” However, in 2021, Sánchez had already pardoned the independence leaders imprisoned in Spain (but not the escaped Puigdemont), effectively eliminating the crime of sedition that the Catalan leaders were accused of.
– Also read: Carles Puigdemont, him again
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