Democracy is substantiated in the rule of law, which is the set of laws and regulations that govern our actions. These laws made it possible to condemn the Catalan independentists to severe penalties, some up to 13 years in prison and absolute disqualification from public office. Not for their political ideas, because in a regime of liberties thought is not a crime, but for their actions outside the law. That same rule of law makes possible, as a measure of grace, which is a prerogative of the government, the partial pardon of the sentences.
This partial pardon is commonly used in all governments. Thus, it is frequent that measures of grace are approved in the councils of ministers. There are many pardoned, some for very serious crimes, including soldiers convicted of the attempted coup d'état of 23F, those responsible for the dirty war against terrorism or bankers in prison for major economic crimes.
It seems that the government wants to apply this law, which in its current formulation dates from 1870, to the convicted independentists. Firstly, and as required by law, the measure must be of public utility. What greater utility than to contribute to relaxing the tension in Catalonia? These prisoners do not have crimes of blood. The pardon will be partial, just enough for them to get out of prison, where they have been for more than three years, but it will not affect their total disqualification from public office. The law does not require repentance, and I doubt they can try again, because they do not have public office and are disqualified. In Europe, the severity of the penalties is not well understood.
A strong political and social reaction has arisen against this possible measure of grace. Concentrations are organized or signatures are collected against it. Those who think this way have all my respect, but they must promote another alternative, something different from what is presumably intended to be done, only the negative is not a solution to anything. Let us remember a similar movement against the Catalan statute in 2006, all it achieved was to reinforce independentism. It is about solving problems, not adding fuel to the fire. The independentists are more dangerous in prison than out of it.
An independentism, increasingly weak (has lost about 600000 votes in the last elections), is defeated with democracy, at the polls, displacing it from power with votes. Their political weapon is the self-victimizing discourse: Spain steals from us, mistreats us and takes away our freedom. Faced with this fallacy, the generosity of the pardons entails their political disarmament. This measure of grace would leave them with their plea seriously touched and would contribute to dividing them.
Spain is a consolidated democracy and this measure, if it goes wrong, is not going to destroy it. Perhaps individually the independentists do not deserve this pardon, but it is a message addressed to Catalonia, which does need it. Dialogue and reunion must make their way. As Winston Churchill said, "It is better to talk than to fight".
PS: I prefer universalism to the narrow-mindedness represented by independentism. The situation of conflict in Catalonia splashes Lanzarote, as more than one official from those lands has come to take refuge among us.
Eduardo Núñez González.
