Mass protests have recently erupted in Spanish cities, as hundreds of thousands of people marched against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s proposed amnesty deal with Catalan separatists, which was thought to be in exchange for parliamentary support. The key driver of these protests was reported to be the conservative Spanish People’s Party (PP), which portrayed Sánchez as a threat to Spanish democracy.
The issue has its roots in the Catalan independence referendum from October 2017. This event saw a significant majority of Catalan voters choosing independence. However, Spain’s Constitutional Court deemed the referendum illegal, according to the Spanish Constitution, nullifying the results. Several Catalan officials have since been charged and indicted for their involvement.
In response to the ongoing tension, former president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, fled the country and formed the party Together for Catalonia (Junts), while still in exile. Negotiations between Sánchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party and Puigdemont’s Junts followed a stalemate election in July 2023. It was reported that Junts demanded “complete and effective abandonment” of all legal proceedings against the Catalan independence movement in exchange for their critical votes in the Congress of Deputies, as mentioned in a tweet by Puigdemont.
The proposed amnesty deal, however, has incited severe societal responses. As recently as September, over 40,000 protestors were seen on the streets of Madrid voicing their disapproval of the planned amnesty deal. As the political drama unfolds, the world will be watching closely.