Tens of thousands of individuals, carrying Spanish and Catalan flags, marched through the streets of Barcelona on Sunday to voice their opposition to a potential amnesty deal. This deal is a crucial requirement for Spain’s Socialists to form a government, given Catalonia’s 2017 bid for separatism.
The protest, organized by the anti-separatist group Societat Civil Catalana, unfolded just five days after Spain’s acting Socialist prime minister was nominated to seek the support of other political parties for a new mandate. Pedro Sanchez requires the backing of Catalan separatist parties Junts and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, who are demanding amnesty in exchange for their votes in parliament.
Leaders from the opposition conservative People’s Party, represented by Alberto Nunez Feijoo, and the far-right Vox party, led by Santiago Abascal, were present at the march. Police estimated that approximately 50,000 protesters participated.
Sanchez has defended his policy of reconciliation with Catalonia, including the pardon granted in 2021 to nine jailed leaders, emphasizing that the 2017 crisis had yielded no positive outcomes.
The potential amnesty could encompass over 1,400 individuals linked to the 2017 independence bid, according to estimates by the pro-separatist Catalan group Omnium. These individuals include those currently in custody and facing charges. If realized, this would be the largest amnesty in Spain since the blanket amnesty of 1977, which covered crimes committed during the Francisco Franco dictatorship. It would also mark the first amnesty law approved in the European Union since 1991, as per Spain’s CSIC research council.
A mid-September poll indicated that around 70% of respondents, including 59% of Socialist supporters, were against the idea of amnesty. If no candidate secures a majority for prime minister by November 27, a repeat election will be necessary.
