Spain’s parliament passes disputed Catalan amnesty law

Spain’s parliament gave final approval Thursday to a controversial amnesty law which will end legal action against hundreds of Catalan separatists involved in the unsuccessful 2017 secession bid.

The legislation — backed by the left-wing ruling coalition, two Catalan parties and other smaller parties — passed even though the conservative Popular Party (PP) and the right-wing Vox voted against it.  

The bill passed by a narrow margin of 177 votes in favor to 172 votes against.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the vote. “In politics, as in life, forgiveness is more powerful than rancor,” he wrote on X.

“Today Spain is more prosperous and united than in 2017. Coexistence is making its way,” Sánchez added.  

Following publication in the official gazette, Spanish courts will have a two-month window to implement the law, which is anticipated to annul the legal records of hundreds of officials and activists engaged in Catalonia’s separatist movement since 2011.

In March, the lower house of the Spanish parliament approved the bill, which grants amnesty to more than 300 nationalists, including former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont.

The lower house of parliament had previously rejected the bill in January as Puigdemont’s Junts party opposed it, citing concerns about potential prosecution for terrorism. Following negotiations, a revised version of the law was agreed on to address these issues.

Since first taking power in 2018, Sánchez has attempted to reduce tensions in the northeastern region, claiming that the amnesty is key to achieving deescalation.

PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called Sánchez a “coward” for not attending the debate.

“Ask yourselves why he is such a coward that he won’t even appear here today,” Feijóo said, adding that Sánchez hasn’t come to defend the bill because he knows it constitutes “electoral fraud.”

Feijóo also attacked Sánchez’s party and said Thursday’s decision was “the death certificate of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party.”