The drama of the rejection of amnesty in Spain… by the Puigdemont party, which was the main beneficiary

This Tuesday afternoon, the Spanish Parliament finally voted on an amnesty law that would benefit Catalan independence leaders. A law that was highly negotiable with the Junts, the party of Carles Puigdemont, the main beneficiary of the law.

Against the vote of this law, the latter gave his support to Pedro Sánchez during his inauguration for a new mandate.

However, at the end of the afternoon, the Juntes voted against the law, which was not adopted, without the votes of Carles Puigdemont, Pedro Sánchez did not have an absolute majority.

The development is a direct result of new legal pressure aimed at Catalonia's former president. On Monday, a judge reopened an open investigation into alleged contacts between Puigdemont's entourage and Russian envoys after the Oct. 1, 2017, date of the Catalan self-determination referendum.

The magistrate, in fact, this Monday, extended the case for six months and opened the door, although not mentioned in the document, accusing Puigdemont and his collaborators of treason. From Future Amnesty Act.

Faced with this risk of new cases, Jundz proposed several amendments to the amnesty law that was examined this Tuesday in the Spanish Parliament. Despite Juntz's ultimatum, all the amendments were rejected by Pedro Sánchez's Socialist Party, which indicated it did not want to pass the law as is, leaving its leader more exposed to “new legal persecution”. However, this Tuesday morning, the PSOE was moved by judicial intrusion into a political process aimed at peace in Catalonia.

And now?

Now rejected, the amnesty law has not yet been consigned to oblivion. It may now be subject to amendments in Parliament's Justice Committee, which may produce a new opinion within a fortnight.

Therefore, new negotiations between the PSOE and independence groups should be launched, considering changes to this law to permanently protect Catalan independence leaders from terrorist crimes or high treason charges.

If the changes are accepted, the legislation will return to Parliament for a vote. This will be the last chance to vote on this amnesty law, which is based entirely on Pedro Sánchez's majority in parliament. If there is a new rejection, the socialist leader's term will surely end and a new period of uncertainty will begin in Spain.