The Democratic Memory Law concludes its parliamentary process, pending its vote in full, after the approval of the paper, yesterday, in the Constitutional Commission of Congress chaired by Patxi López, two years after the coalition government submitted it to the opinion of the House. Despite the long and tortuous road, yesterday the faces were moderately satisfied not only among the groups that, through amendments, have supported it, such as PNV, EH Bildu, Más País, PDECat or the Canarian Coalition, but also among those who abstained, such as CKD.
Precisely the spokesman for the PSOE in the commission, Indalecio Gutiérrez, thanked all the groups for their support and their contribution in the form of amendments, but in a very unique way Esquerra, despite the fact that his vote was ultimately an abstention, for having incorporated amendments and for not opposing the final text of the paper. The insurmountable hurdle for the positive vote of ERC is the non-repeal of the Amnesty law, which the Republicans consider a padlock to the investigation of the crimes of the Franco regime. Instead, PSOE and United We Can have incorporated an amendment to the text that specifies a legal obviousness: that the Amnesty Law must be interpreted in accordance with the international treaties signed, which means that crimes against humanity are not eligible for amnesty. For ERC, this is not enough to vote in favor, explained the Republican deputy Carolina Telechea, but other approved amendments do deserve an abstention, such as the one that declares “illegal” –and not simply “null” or “illegitimate”– the sentences of the Francoism, one of the claims that the then Esquerra spokesman, Joan Tardà, defended most vigorously. Nor does the law meet ERC’s expectations by not including a return inventory of assets that changed hands during the Franco regime, which involved the largest transfer of assets in the history of Spain. Another of the amendments agreed upon with minority groups is the extension of the period of investigation of human rights violations until 1983.
The three right wingers voted against. In the case of the PP, considering that this law, explained its spokesmen Jaime Miquel Mateu and María Jesús Moro, supposes an amendment to the transition as a reconciliation process. Vox used similar arguments, while criticizing the interpretation of the 1936 coup d’état as a fascist rebellion against a democratic regime – deputy Francisco Contreras denied both considerations – and finally Ciudadanos, through his deputy Guillermo Díaz, criticized that the Democratic Memory Law does not address ETA’s terrorism. And of course, the three formations delegitimized the norm for having the support of EH-Bildu.
