Congratulations to ERC and Bildu. Also in Junts, even if their competition is obstinately and willfully irrelevant to Congress. Two legislatures are heavier than flies with the gag law to finally prevent its partial modification by emphasizing, to argue the wreck, something outside the norm such as the use of rubber balls by the police to violent demonstrations. That it is these two parties that carry the accent of desgavell does not excuse the Executive. At the end of the day, the end result is as paradoxical as it is indisputable: the most progressive coalition Government in history is already as responsible as Mariano Rajoy for the muzzle continuing indefinitely in the mouths of the citizens.
The PSOE’s reluctance to change may have something to do with the enthusiasm with which it has used a law it formally disavows. It is enough to look back at the pandemic years or at what happens with hot returns at the border with Morocco – now that the neighbor to the south is friendly – to corroborate this. In some matters, such as public security or border policy, it is always better to live against the right.
The proximity of the start of the electoral cycle makes it difficult to reach agreements. Make a profile, differentiate yourself, stick your feet in the essences. The bag where the most loyal voter lives must be closed. This makes it difficult to transfer and abandon the demands of maximums. This explains part of the failure of the reform. But not only. It could also be that ERC thought that the time had come to Catalanize the police debate in the State. This would be equivalent to turning the discussion about the devices and means of the National Police and the Civil Guard into a circus, as has been the case with the Mossos d’Esquadra for some time thanks to the lack of political courage of most political forces of Parliament with government responsibilities in recent years. It is true that now in Catalonia the eternal discussion about how bad the Mossos are has entered a valley area. Of course, in exchange for turning the Department of the Interior into an extension of the Department of Equality and Feminism. The wildcard of the feminization of the body will last for councilor Joan Ignasi Elena until an unpleasant police action – whether it is proportionate or not – brings him back to the reality of what he has in his hands.
The excesses and abuses of the agents, including those who entered the body thanks to the unreliability of the psychotechnical tests, the errors of the commanders when anticipating or executing police devices or even – not to let the apart from recent episodes such as Operation Catalunya – the downright criminal attitude of some uniformed officers and their political leaders, these are not issues that a democracy that considers itself as such can take lightly.
There are mechanisms to defend against these abuses and crimes. And it is true that on too many occasions the despicable police corporatism or the wildcard of State affairs prevent the existing resources from being used effectively to thoroughly clear responsibilities. But it is in this direction where efforts should be directed for the full democratization of the security forces. This and the improvement in the selection of commanders, paying only attention to the professionalism of the candidates and not their more or less explicit collusion with a certain political project.
On the other hand, to consider that a police force is only democratically acceptable when it renounces – or is made to renounce – the tools and violent materials of deterrence – none of them, from rubber balls to water cannons, with zero risk to the protester’s physical integrity – is equivalent to confusing the ass with the temples. Failure to amend the gag law will remain a guarantee as long as eggs are mixed with snails. And, let’s add, as long as the PSOE keeps at least one of the two feet nailed to the plot of reality.
