Tens of thousands of Spaniards protested on Sunday in Madrid against the possible plans of the president of the Government in functions, Pedro Sánchez, to amnesty the Catalan separatists to remain in office after an election that he did not win.
Flying flags Spanish, supporters of the conservative opposition party, the Popular Party (PP), They traveled from all over Spain to attend the rally in Madrid. The authorities estimated the number of attendees at 40,000.
Sanchez, who came second in elections held in July, could remain in office if he gains the support of former Catalan leader in exile Carles Puigdemont, whose Junts per Catalunya party controls seven seats in Parliament.
Puigdemont, who has a search and arrest warrant in Spain for attempting the secession of the region, has demanded that the legal actions against his fellow separatists as a condition of obtaining their support.
March led by Feijóo
Alberto Núñez Feijóoleader of the PP, the party with the most votes on July 23, said he would never give in to demands for amnesty for the organizers of an independence referendum in Catalonia in 2017, which was held despite the courts ruling it was illegal.
Dropping criminal cases against the separatists would be tantamount to granting an amnesty to the “coup plotters,” he told supporters at the rally. Madrid.
Gregorio Castañeda, a 72-year-old pensioner, traveled from Santander to show his opposition to any amnesty.
“I am not in favor of the Government we have. For me this is a disaster because it is going to totally divide Spain,” he told Reuters.
Sanchez He held his own political rally on Sunday in Gavà, near Barcelona, the regional capital of Catalonia. He did not mention an amnesty, but said the socialists wanted to heal social divisions over the Catalan crisis.
“We’re trying to turn the page,” he told his followers.
In 2021, Sanchez granted clemency to nine separatists imprisoned for their role in the independence campaign.
Feijoo will face the first vote to become prime minister on September 27, but his chances of winning are slim as the PP opposes any concessions to the separatists. If Feijoo fails, Sánchez will have the opportunity to see if he can rally support.
Source: Ambito
