Of all the unusual situations that the Congress of Deputies has seen in this unusual legislature, this Tuesday was the most unusual of all. For now.
The two parties that make up the government coalition voted in the opposite direction, between serious accusations and disqualifications, to reform a law that both had approved together in the Council of Ministers.
“It is the first time that a government censors itself,” said the PP spokeswoman, Cuca Gamarra, during the debate.
[Podemos pide defender en la calle la ley del ‘sólo sí es sí’ frente a los “fascistas” que quieren reformarla]
The processing of the reform of the law of yes is yes broke almost for the first time the so-called block of the investiture. The PSOE managed to get Congress to approve the consideration of its text with the votes of PP, Vox, Ciudadanos and PNV, in front of the rest of the Chamber headed by United We Can.
It was so unusual that the Ministers of Equality and Social Affairs, Irene Montero and Ione Belarrarespectively, repeatedly applauded the deputy Lucia Munozfrom United We Can, which accused its government partners of betraying women, of anti-feminism, of promoting the “Penal Code of The pack” and some other nice things, in addition to warning that the street will stop the reform of the law that “the fascists” want.
“A handful of fascists,” he added, “who intend to return to silence and guilt, to having to prove with skin wounds that we have been raped.”
“The PSOE proposal means returning to the probationary ordeal. What is going to happen is very serious. The PSOE allies with PP and Vox to return to the Penal Code of The packso that they ask us again if we close our legs well,” said the deputy, who was greeted with a hug by Montero and Belarra as they came down from the rostrum.
In the morning, Montero and Belarra were sitting at the table of the Council of Ministers with the members who, according to their party, attack women. It was a tense Council and all this happened in the eve of 8-M, International Women’s Day, a day of feminist vindication, in which women take to the streets in demonstrations. And this time they will do it in that context of political division.
Sánchez will not go today to the institutional act organized by Equality and to the one he did go to last year.
No other minister, nor the Prime Minister, attended the debate in Congress. The second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, who also voted against the PSOE and against modifying the law that has caused more than 700 sentence reductions for sex offenders, was not present either.
The vice president did go to the vote and responded to the journalists with a laconic phrase to fly over the conflict, which in her case is not unusual: “We never had to get here”.
Then he had an intense meeting in a room of Congress with Montero and with the IU deputy Enrique de Santiago. The three of them came out of the so-called “clock room” with a very serious face.
In the morning, Moncloa prevented the Minister of Equality from appearing before the media after the Council of Ministers to make a statement on 8-M, as she did last year. That meeting of the Government approved the preliminary draft of the parity law that, despite dealing with Equality, was presented by the vice president Nadia Calvino. That is also unusual.
As it will also be that this Wednesday the coalition government will continue to stand after everything that has happened, although it will only be formally maintained, since de facto It’s been broken for a long time. At least it will continue for the moment and unless Sánchez decides otherwise, because Unidas Podemos repeats that they won’t leave if they don’t kick them out.
The red lines of dissenting voting and a lack of mutual respect between both parts of the coalition have already been crossed. According to Socialist deputies, this Tuesday a point of no return was passed in relations between the two government partners. But the two officially explain that they have no intention of formally breaking up.
Sources from the Socialist Group say they are very upset by the intervention of United We Can in the debate and by expressions such as “Criminal Code of The pack” or fraud to women.
Also for having broken the investiture block by throwing ERC and Bildu these days to leave the PSOE alone together with PP and Vox. The Socialists assure that Unidas Podemos believes that it is going well for them to set their own profile on this matter and maintain the thesis of the judicial, political and media right against the law.
“Unwanted Effects”
They explain that the Ministry of Equality has not wanted to negotiate and, therefore, an agreement has not been possible. Deputy Andrea Fernández expressly apologized from the rostrum to the victims for the “unwanted effects” of the law.
“The PSOE assumes the responsibility of modifying this law that is not working properly and must be reformed,” he said. The deputy also warned, addressing United We Can: “We are tired of your rants and hyperboles”.
And from United We Can they explain that Moncloa has been scared by the polls and has followed the path of the right, by disavowing the star law of Irene Montero.
His main argument is to argue that the PSOE reform ends with consent as the center of the norm, by again including violence as aggravating factors and, therefore, forcing the victim of sexual crimes to prove the resistance.
Now, the reform begins the urgent parliamentary process with many uncertainties. The first will be if Unidas Podemos presents an amendment to the entirety to be debated next week in plenary. Then will come the negotiation on the partial amendments. The PSOE continues to trust that the PP maintains its vote in favor of the norm, because it depends on that to carry out its reform of the controversial law.
At the moment, for Patxi López, spokesman for the PSOE, the speech of his partners is unpresentable, irresponsible and out of reality. López, in theory, will be one of those who continue to negotiate with United We Can. The show will continue.
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