The one of “Puigdemont to prison“has been, without any doubt, the most chanted cry during the demonstration against amnesty this Sunday in Barcelona. But today he has shared the spotlight with an amalgam of proclamations directed against the leader of the PSOE, Pedro Sanchez, and its Government, after having finally closed the agreement with ERC and Junts. From “this president is a criminal”, to “traitors out of the institutions”, to “Spain is not for sale, Spain defends itself” or “Let Chapote vote for you”.
The day has started in the Sant Jaume square summoned by the platform Catalonia adds up for Spain, along with other entities, and have managed to bring together the main Catalan representatives of PP, Cs and Vox. At the end of the rally, which lasted barely half an hour, the extreme right of Vox called to continue the protest in front of the Spanish Government Delegation. A good part of those gathered followed them, going up Via Laietana until they reached the headquarters on Mallorca Street. There it has been possible to continue hearing the same proclamations, to which some have also added “for them” and insults like “PSC whore” or “Pedro Sánchez son of a bitch.”
According to the Guàrdia Urbana, up to 6,500 people have gathered in the Plaza de Sant Jaume, a far cry from the 50,000 protesters who attended the event organized by the Catalan Civil Society on October 8, when the amnesty was still being negotiated. However, this weekend’s event has been replicated in all the provinces, in this case called by the Popular Party.
During the parliaments, which took place on a stage located right in front of the façade of the Generalitat, the convening entities have even predicted that Pedro Sánchez will end up imprisoned in Alcalá Meco and have recommended that he find “a good lawyer.” Shouts such as “Sánchez, you are a liar, you are disgusting” or “the amnesty is rubbish” have also been heard from the lectern.
The demonstration was initially called by the platform Catalonia adds up for Spain right after the photo of the socialist Santos Cerdan with the former president Carles Puigdemont negotiating the investiture of Pedro Sánchez and the amnesty law in Brussels with a huge photograph of the October 1 referendum in the background. But once the pact between the PSOE and the independence groups for the amnesty was closed, knowing that Pedro Sánchez already has under his arm all the votes he needs to revalidate his presidency, it has taken on another relevance.
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“The Sánchez-Puigdemont agreement is a humiliation. But we are convinced that we are going to turn it around with all the legal resources that the rule of law puts at our disposal,” the president of the PP of Catalonia stated before starting, Alejandro Fernandez, one of the first to confirm his attendance at the call. Fernández has attended the rally accompanied by the municipal leader, Daniel Sireraand the president of the PP of Barcelona, Manu Reyeswho has read the party manifesto that has also been read in the rest of the capitals.
An action by the popular party to prevent Vox from taking over all the spotlights, after the far-right party has led the protests in recent nights in front of the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street in Madrid. The leader of Vox in Catalonia, Ignacio Garrigahas also attended the rally, accompanied by the municipal leader, Polished Gold Gonzalo, which has accused the socialists of committing a “historic attack on Spain.” On the part of Cs, Carlos Carrizosahas accused Sánchez of “lying” during the 23-J campaign and of being the one who “does not accept democracy”, in reference to the criticism launched by the PSOE against this week’s protests.