The reform to repeal sedition and its negotiation once again show internal tension in United We Can

Podemos expresses its fear of the possibility of social protest being criminalized and Asens sees no danger

MADRID, 14 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The reform to eliminate the crime of sedition in the Penal Code, both in relation to the negotiation with the PSOE and with respect to the possible negative impact it may have on social protest, has shown this Monday a new internal tension within United Can.

On the one hand, Podemos has recognized that it was unaware of the terms of the dialogue within the coalition, assumed by the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, and the president of the parliamentary group in Congress, Jaume Asens, on behalf of the confederal space.

In this way, the state co-spokesperson, María Teresa Pérez, highlighted that her training had not participated in the preparation of this bill within the coalition and also warned of the concern about the risk that the new criminal type of disorder aggravated public, which repeals the law of sedition, could serve for interpretations that criminalize protests by social groups.

And in this sense he pointed out, making it clear that the suppression of the "anachronistic" crime of sedition as they had demanded was "good news", that the option of amending the text to avoid that extreme was valued.

A few words to which Asens himself reacted shortly after, who replied that the confederal space as a whole knew that this reform was being addressed but that the "details" of the initiative were not reported due to "discretion" to both Podemos and IU and the 'commons', to avoid leaks before the end of the announcement by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.

In turn, the leader of En Comú Podem, who is also part of the purple party, defended the need to be "careful" regarding this initiative, which meant limiting detailed information to a small group of people.

On the other hand, confederal space sources close to the second vice president indicate that she spoke last Thursday with the leader of the purple party, Ione Belarra, to explain the content of the agreement once it was closed, delving into the line that she was aware that she was this negotiation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, Podemos sources maintain that Díaz told them that the pact with the PSOE had simply been reached minutes before the president, Pedro Sánchez, announced it in an interview with 'La Sexta' and that the text with the interview was obtained after.

Former Vice President Pablo Iglesias also entered the debate, who last Friday revealed that party officials were studying in detail a reform that had been carried out with "enormous secrecy."

And Iglesias also connected with the fear of Podemos in the face of possible unwanted effects of this change in the Penal Code, by proclaiming that there is a "consensus throughout the left that no reform can serve for social activists who practice civil disobedience or protest in the street they can find new criminal types that serve to criminalize social protest".

Meanwhile, Díaz has defended that the Government, with the suppression of the crime of sedition, "is doing what it should do", and improves the criminal legislation of Spain, which "should have been reformed a long time ago", by reforming the Penal Code to modify criminal types such as sedition and other crimes.

However, the president of the confederal group does not share this vision and believes that social protest is not in danger, clarifying that the text refers to public disorder that implies "violence" or "intimidation", safeguarding demonstrations without altercations. Moreover, he has launched that "people were being deceived" warning that said reform affected peaceful civil disobedience.

The leader of En Comú Podem was in favor of modifying the Penal Code to reduce the penalties provided for the crime of embezzlement in the event that there is no personal enrichment, a reform that, in addition to benefiting the leaders of the 2017 independence process, It could also help the former president of the PSOE and the Junta de Andalucía José Antonio Griñán, convicted of the ERE case.

Podemos has been more cautious, which through María Teresa Pérez, highlighted that there was not yet a formal proposal raised at the dialogue table and that if it became official, its formation would study it.

In the past, space officials such as the spokesman in Congress, Pablo Echenique, rejected the possibility of granting Griñán a pardon, arguing that they were not in favor of using this government policy for this type of case.

The formation has experienced other moments of internal divergence such as the one caused by the shipment of weapons in Ukraine, which led to the rejection of Podemos and the support of Díaz and the commons.