The leader of Vox, Santiago Abascalattacked the government of Pedro Sanchez after having agreed with Bildu on the modification of the law on citizen security, self-proclaimed by the left as Gag law. “Today Sánchez decided that be the terrorists “those who make the laws on police and security in Spain”, assured Abascal, referring to the formation of the Arnaldo Otegiwho was responsible for explaining this agreement to the media, and not to the socialists. The PSOE agreed to eliminate the so-called “harmful aspects” of the standard with which agents of state security forces and agencies are protected.
“Never has a government betrayed the Nation so much. No water for this government, no pact with the government which leaves the security forces and Spanish society at the feet of terrorists and criminals. The traitor Sánchez“, Santiago Abascal said this Thursday in a message on social networks after the agreement between the PSOE and Bildu was known. In this way, the leader of Vox excludes any form of pact with the socialists or with the government of Pedro Sánchez.
Spokesperson for Vox in Congress, Pepa Millanwas also shown in this sense regarding the agreement between the Sánchez executive and Bildu to modify the Citizen Security Law. Millán recalled the past of Arnaldo Otegi’s training. “That the executioners of the Spanish people Whoever writes the laws fully reflects the baseness of this government, which does nothing to demand clarification of the more than 300 unsolved murders. The political wing of ETA should be in prison, not in Congress,” he lamented.
Today, Sánchez has decided that terrorists will be the ones to draw up the police and security laws in Spain.
Never has a government betrayed the Nation so much.
No water for this government, no pact with the government which is leaving…
— Santiago Abascal 🇪🇸 (@Santi_ABASCAL) October 3, 2024
“Adverse aspects”
Spokesperson for Bildu in the Lower House, Mertxe Aizpuruaassured during a press conference that they had agreed with the socialists to “reform the four outstanding questions” of the law on citizen security, in particular the “harmful aspects”. Among them, he mentioned “lack of respect, disobedience, rubber balls and returns to the border”, known as hot returns.
Aizpurua argued that the new rule will end the “discretionary power of sanctions for disrespect”, which must be “objectifiable and justified”. “Protect the right to free expression,” he said. MP Bildu stressed that sanctions for lack of respect will be canceled in the event that “the sanctioned person retracts.” “The sanctions for disobedience will be reduced from a serious offense to a minor offense“, he explained.
“All this will be reflected in a new law which will replace the Gag law“, he stressed. “This new organic law of freedoms and citizen security includes all the agreements and progress made between the different groups in the treatment of the last legislature, to which are now added the four outstanding questions from the agreement that we are presenting today today,” he concluded.
A reform expected by the left
All these “harmful aspects” mentioned by Aizpurua are what “they generated a blockage during the previous legislature”as recalled by Bildu’s spokesperson. The law was approved by the PP government led by Mariano Rajoy in 2015, when he had an absolute majority. Since then, criticism from left-wing parties has continued. Already in March 2017, the PSOE had tried, without success, to have this reform adopted in Congress, in front of a Rajoy PP government in a parliamentary minority.
In the previous legislature they also tried to change this rule, without success. The Executive negotiated for a year and a half with its partners in more than 50 formal and informal meetings. The government’s proposal amended 36 of the 54 articles of the Citizen Security Law. However, he did not address any of the precepts that radical left parties consider “most harmful.” There are four elements that mark the differences from the start, notably riot equipment.
The reform did not take place after ERC and Bildu will vote against in the opinion of the Interior Commission in March 2023. Their votes were added to those of the PP, Vox, Ciudadanos, UPN and Junts, adding a total of 19 no compared to the 18 yes of the PSOE and Podemos.
