The PSOE‘s support for the law promoted by together to toughen penalties for recidivism in minor crimes shakes the political board, although without altering its underlying balances. On the one hand, this gesture “helps” the PSOE to get closer to the formation of Carles Puigdemontwhile the socialists fully enter into a terrain that until now was uncomfortable, although supported by an argument that the PSC of Salvador Illa It has been holding for months. Socialist sources recognize that this measure does not unlock any key agreement with Juntsbut it is a pending procedure. In fact, the decision adds tension with his partners on the left, who warn of the risk of reinforcing discourses that associate crime and immigration and that they consider openly racist.
This Thursday, the norm obtained the approval of the Congress thanks to the majority formed by PP, Vox, Junts, PNV and PSOE, which a few months ago recovered this initiative proposed by the Catalan independentists as a gesture to try to rebuild bridges with them. Until now, the issue generated some discomfort in the socialist ranks, but Salvador Illa’s PSC has been working on this debate for a long time. Both from the Generalitat and from Catalan socialism, the idea that “security is leftist” is firmly entrenched and the measure seeks to be approached as a public right, rather than as an instrument of the immigration debate.
Precisely, this was the argument that the PSOE Justice spokesperson, Paco Aranda, used this Thursday to defend the measure during the debate in Congress: “Security can be done from the left”he assured. However, his position on it does not convince the left of the PSOE. And this discontent of its partners cannot be interpreted as acceptable collateral damage in the face of a greater benefit, since the initiative does not significantly modify the direction of relations of the Government with Junts.
This is confirmed by Junts, which continues to maintain its rejection of other pending measures such as the decree that includes the anti-eviction moratorium. Those from Puigdemont celebrate the approval of this measure, but say they do not give it any more significance than the payment of a debt by the PSOE. The law against multiple recidivism It is not part of the main demands of Juntswhose compliance could imply a movement to rebuild the bridges.
Among the points at stake are the delegation of immigration powers to Catalonia, the official status of Catalan in the EU and budget execution. Sources from the socialist wing of the Government admit that this Thursday’s gesture “helps”, but they emphasize that it doesn’t unlock anythingsince everything was previously agreed. The party maintains the same interpretation, although some voices acknowledge that they continue working to ensure that Junts abstains from validating the social shield decree.
The anger of the partners… including Sumar
The members of the PSOE did not spare this Thursday criticism of the socialists for having joined their votes with those of PP, Vox, Junts and the PNV to approve a law that, they consider, will not only be ineffective in reducing repeated thefts, but will also serve to spread the arguments of the extreme right. Even Add, which is part of the Government and, for this reason, tends to show more restraint, this Thursday harshly criticized the measure through its deputy spokesperson, Enrique Santiago, who assured that “it is not going to fix the problem, but will give an immense projection to fascist and racist ideas” that convey “that foreigners come to commit crimes and that you cannot go out on the streets.”
“What is this, a grand coalition experiment? ¿“Is it an agreement to make the demagogic discourse of Vox, Se Acabó La Fiesta or Aliança Catalana hegemonic?” Santiago asked very angrily during the debate. And he was not the only one. He also mentioned the far-right Aliança Catalana, due to whose strong growth the Junts leadership has been feeling pressure for a few months, the Bildu deputy Jon Iñarritu, who stated that passing this law “will not work to stop them” and accused those who They have supported it by focusing on pursuing the “robagallinas”, people “with marginal profiles” who need to improve their living conditions.
The exception among the progressive partners was ERCfor whom the issue of multiple recidivism causes him a lot of discomfort due to the incidence of theft in Catalonia. In fact, its deputy Pilar Vallugera announced that the Republicans would abstain because some of the ERC mayors have demanded measures to stop this problem in their municipalities. But, at the same time, he assured that “reality is not changed by the Penal Code or the law of civil procedure,” but rather by increasing the means of the justice system to unblock it and “with a penitentiary system that allows rehabilitation.”
“It is true that the story that has been promoted by the right,” said Vallugera, is not real, since “what the data tells us is that the crime figures show us a decrease, at least in Catalonia.” However, “the people who walk the streets every day and explain to us what their needs are” demand to tackle the problem of multiple recidivism, admitted the deputy, who stated that this is the reason why her group does not want to “create obstacles”, even though they think that the law is “punitive populism” and “smoke.”
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