Spain’s Congress has passed the contentious Catalan amnesty law, marking its final parliamentary approval before implementation. This legislation aims to cease ongoing legal proceedings against Catalan nationalists involved in separatist activities, including the 2017 referendum and subsequent failed independence bid.
The law narrowly passed with 177 votes in favor and 172 against, following a six-month parliamentary process since Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) introduced it. Initially approved by Congress in March, the bill then faced delays in the opposition-controlled Senate, which ultimately couldn’t prevent its passage.
Upon publication in the official gazette, judges will have two months to enforce the law, though potential legal challenges are not expected to obstruct its application. The amnesty will benefit nearly 400 Catalan nationalists who have faced legal actions since November 2011, including those involved in organizing the 2017 independence referendum. Additionally, police officers prosecuted for actions against voters during the referendum will also be covered by this law.
The most notable beneficiary is Carles Puigdemont, former Catalonia president and leader of the 2017 secession movement, who has been in self-exile in Belgium to avoid extradition. Other pro-independence politicians who fled the country will also benefit. Puigdemont’s party, Together for Catalonia (JxCat), along with the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), secured the amnesty in exchange for their support of Sánchez’s coalition government. Puigdemont plans to return to Spain for an investiture vote in the regional parliament, expected in June. Despite running as JxCat’s lead candidate in a recent election and finishing second, he currently lacks sufficient support to form a government.
Miriam Nogueras of JxCat stated, “This is not clemency, it is a necessary redress. Today we have won a battle, but the conflict isn’t over.”
The PSOE and its coalition partner, Sumar, voted in favor of the law, alongside JxCat, ERC, the pro-independence Basque EH Bildu coalition, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG), and the far-left Podemos. Opponents included the conservative People’s Party (PP), the far-right Vox, and conservative factions from Navarre and the Canary Islands.
In a tense parliamentary session, PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo criticized the amnesty as “political corruption,” arguing it unfairly benefits Catalans and was proposed by Sánchez for political gain. In contrast, Artemi Rallo of PSOE defended the law and the 2022 government pardon of nine jailed independence leaders, stating it has “normalized politics in Catalonia.”
