Catalan Amnesty Law: A step towards reconciliation or political manoeuvring?

Spain’s Congress has enacted the contested Catalan amnesty measure, reigniting concerns about justice and political manoeuvring in the continuing Catalan independence conflict. The measure seeks to dismiss judicial actions against Catalan nationalists who participated in the 2017 independence referendum and its aftermath.

As the country considers the ramifications, opinions differ sharply on whether this decision is a step towards reconciliation or a deliberate ploy by the government.

The arguments

Defenders of the amnesty, such as JxCat’s Miriam Nogueras, contend that it represents a step towards reconciliation in Catalonia’s turbulent political scene rather than clemency.

After the government pardoned nine independence leaders who were imprisoned in 2022, the PSOE, Sumar, and other pro-independence parties supported the measure as a way to bring politics in Catalonia back to normalcy.

Critics, including the far-right Vox and the conservative People’s Party (PP), accuse Sánchez of giving preference to Catalans and putting his own political survival ahead of the amnesty, calling it political corruption.

In response, PSOE’s Artemi Rallo disputed these allegations, saying that the amnesty together with earlier pardons promotes political normalisation and communication in Catalonia.

For many, the enactment of the Catalan amnesty law presents important queries regarding justice, responsibility, and the way forward for peace in an area characterised by long-standing political conflicts and demands for independence.

The facts

The law intends to put an end to ongoing legal proceedings against Catalan nationalists engaged in separatist activities, particularly the referendum of 2017 and the ensuing bid for independence.

After six months of parliamentary deliberation following the bill’s proposal by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE), 177 parliamentarians voted in favour of it, while 172 opposed it, giving the law a slender majority.

Following the passing of a preliminary congressional vote in March, the bill encountered opposition in the opposition-controlled Senate but overcame it to pass the final stage in parliament.

Judges will have two months to apply the law when it is published in the official gazette, even in the event of any legal challenges, which are not anticipated to prevent its implementation.

Nearly 400 Catalan nationalists who have been the subject of legal action since November 2011 are expected to benefit from the amnesty. This move includes those involved in the deemed illegal 2017 referendum and police officers accused of voter suppression.

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Belgium since the country’s unsuccessful attempt at independence, is one of the well-known beneficiaries. In return for their backing of Sánchez’s coalition government, Puigdemont’s Together for Catalonia (JxCat) and the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) pushed for the amnesty.