In the aftermath of the controversy that has engulfed the PP and its leader due to contacts in the summer with Junts and ERC, with pardons and amnesty on the table, the PSOE and Carles Puigdemont's party resumed direct dialogue yesterday in Barcelona to reactivate the negotiation of the Amnesty law that ran aground at the end of January in the Congress of Deputies, when JxCat voted against the project. Despite the meeting, which lasted about two hours, the positions of both did not change.
A socialist delegation formed by the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, and the organizational secretary of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán, met yesterday in the Catalan capital with the post-convergent general secretary, Jordi Turull, and the group's spokesperson in Madrid , Miriam Nogueras. The meeting only served to reaffirm the distance that separates them, since the PSOE does not want to change the text that came out without a quorum in Congress, and JxCat insists that its amendments, passed in the Lower House, are the best guarantee for the norm do not leave anyone accused of the process outside the umbrella of the amnesty.
In fact, the socialist position was publicly reaffirmed yesterday by the Minister of the Presidency Félix Bolaños and the first vice president, Maria Jesús Montero, although the Government is open to studying alternatives. Once the reform of the Penal Code was ruled out, at the Barcelona meeting a reform of the Criminal Procedure Law (LECrim) was once again proposed, although studying other avenues was not ruled out.
At Junts they do not foresee public movements before the Galician elections. At the moment, everything seems to indicate that the post-convergents will vote against again, but they will push the negotiations to the end, convinced that the pressure will allow them to incorporate the modifications that, in their opinion, dismantle the accusation of terrorism in the cause of Tsunami Democràtic which is instructed by the judge of the National Court, Manuel García-Castellón, as well as that of court number 1 of Barcelona, which is being investigated by Judge Joaquín Aguirre, for the alleged Russian plot of the process, in which Puigdemont is intended to be charged with high treason. .
Yesterday's meeting took place a week before the first deadline set in Congress for the Justice Commission to approve a new opinion on the rule, which must then be voted on in plenary. A period, however, that can be extended by a maximum of another 15 days, until March 7.
Before the meeting, Bolaños confirmed that contacts with Junts have been resumed and he was confident that there will be an agreement on the rule that "includes everyone" and "does not leave anyone out." “We are having contacts. And we do it with discretion (….) I have no doubt that there will be an agreement and an Amnesty law,” he noted in RAC1.
The contacts with Junts were also confirmed yesterday by Vice President Montero. At a campaign event in A Coruña he commented that, in a “very eventful week” due to the “shock” of the information about the PP's dealings with Junts, the socialists have had “fluent contacts and conversations” with the pro-independence parties and with the “rest” of formations not only for the amnesty, but also for the General State Budgets.
But the obstacle remains the same that caused the law to founder in its first attempt, and the socialists maintain their publicly declared intention of not retouching the text of the norm.
Bolaños recalled that PSOE and Junts share "the same objective": to approve a law that "does not leave anyone out", but he avoided referring to particular cases, such as that of Puigdemont or that of the general secretary of ERC, Marta Rovira. “It will cover everyone,” he reiterated, emphasizing the need for the norm to be “absolutely impeccable” legally because “it is going to be heavily attacked,” he warned. The minister avoided commenting on the role of the Prosecutor's Office or the judges but stressed that in the process "there was no terrorism."
Montero also blocked any possibility of modifying the text of the Amnesty law, a “very thoughtful and very measured” text, he said. “Not every amnesty is constitutional” but “the one presented by the PSOE, I can guarantee that it is fully constitutional and that is how it has to come out of Congress,” he concluded.
The arguments of the socialists to reject changes coincide with the refusal of the Republicans, who are determined to reject the Amnesty law if the text is touched upon at the request of Junts. Furthermore, ERC urges that the standard be approved as soon as possible. The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia has decided to hold for April 10 the trial against the president of the republican group in Parliament, Josep María Jové, and the current Minister of Culture, Natàlia Garriga, for alleged disobedience in the preparations for the 1- EITHER.
Within Junts, beyond the departure of former councilor Miquel Sàmper from the party, there has been no public noise, but there has been incomprehension among some members of the party. In turn, former president Artur Mas highlighted a few days ago that he was surprised by the negative vote, although after receiving Turull's explanations he understood that his position is not "definitive."
