The negotiation between the ministries of Equality and Justice for the reform of the law for the comprehensive guarantee of sexual freedom, known as the law of only yes is yes, is not advancing, but it is not stopping either. Although both parties, Unidas Podemos and the PSOE, respectively, understand that this delay is a reputational ordeal for the coalition government, for the moment there have been no significant advances. The night before last, the Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, assured on television that her department had already sent five different proposals to the ministry headed by Pilar Llop and all of them had been rejected, so no progress can be seen in the negotiation. Yesterday, according to government sources, Equality sent a sixth proposal to Justice. Irene Montero’s ministry tries to find a way to incorporate aggravating factors into the law that mean a reinforcement of the penalties, but that are not linked to the existence of violence, to avoid the victim that burden of proof. But at the same time, they have been immersed in the study of the appeals that the Supreme Court has already resolved from those that have reached it, because the victims appealed the reduction of sentence practiced by the respective judges. In six cases, it has ratified the sentence reduction, but in eight it has rejected it. The Government hopes to draw from there lessons about what tweaks can be effective in the law.
The situation between the partners is one of tense calm, to the extent that the negotiation is still alive. Some government sources stress that the attempt to reach an agreement may take longer than is desirable, since the reform of the law has become a mess of crossed statements. Podemos has sounded a rebuttal and the two ministers of the party, Montero and the Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, as well as the Government delegate for gender violence, Victoria Rosell, have been defending the text of the norm all week, at the same time that they negotiate the adjustments that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has imposed. Yesterday the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, spoke of the possibility that the Socialists promote their own reform, if Equality does not come up with any formula that satisfies the PSOE.
However, since Monday, both parties have been avoiding making public accusations of each other, since the situation is already causing erosion of the coalition and its feminist legislative program to further garnish it with reproaches. In any case, it is unlikely that the socialist parliamentary group will present its reform initiative, announced by the Minister of Education and socialist spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, last Monday in Congress today. Parliamentary sources indicate that the majority group is waiting for the resolution of the negotiation, to transfer that agreement to the reform project.
