The Diplomat
The debate held yesterday in the Congress on a non-legislative proposal presented by the PSOE to condemn the events that took place in Brazil on January 8 became a new example of the strong political polarization in Spain.
The proposal, debated during the first ordinary session held by Congress after the January recess, “strongly condemns the events that took place in the city of Brasilia last Sunday, January 8, in which thousands of demonstrators attempted to promote a coup against democracy in the Brazilian State, storming the headquarters of the three branches of government: the Chamber of Deputies, the Federal Supreme Court and the Planalto Palace”.
It also “shows its support and commitment to the democratic institutions of Brazil, as well as to the President of the Federal Republic, Lula da Silva, democratically elected thanks to the will of the Brazilian people on October 30, 2022”, and reiterates “its commitment to strengthening democracy and the legitimacy of institutions in any democratic system and urges all parliamentary forces to unequivocally condemn the assault on Brazil’s institutions”.
This last point contributed to the tempers in the Congress, after Arnau Ramírez, of the Socialist Group, warned, during the defense of the proposal, that “the global irruption of ultras movements puts our democracies at risk” and demanded, therefore, that “all” parliamentary groups “condemn” what happened in Brazil, because “sometimes we believe that those rights and freedoms that we have achieved will be there forever, that we will not lose them, and we have seen that this is not so, we have seen it in many issues, now in Brazil”.
In this sense, he stressed the importance of the parties respecting each other and respecting the results at the polls and took the opportunity, therefore, to reproach the Popular Party for not having recognized the democratic legitimacy that the Government obtained at the polls. “It is extremely dangerous, we have seen it in the US and Brazil. It cannot be that only PP governments are legitimate and that only if the PP governs there is legitimacy”, warned the socialist MP, who concluded his intervention with a question to the PP: “It will not happen, but if you could govern, will you do it with Vox? Yes or no, because this debate ends here”.
In her reply, Edurne Uriarte, of the PP, assured that her party “has condemned the assault on the institutions of Brazil, but also in Spain, occurred before in Brazil and the US”. “Gentlemen of the PSOE, you have a problem of democratic coherence, since you condemn in Brazil and in Spain you govern with those who encourage the assault on the institutions in Spain,” she added. Therefore, she affirmed, Spain is an “example that the risk to democracy comes from extremist groups of all signs”. On the other hand, Rocio de Meer, from Vox, accused the PSOE of having a “double yardstick” because “they condemn what happened in Brazil and are silent on Cuba, Nicaragua or Venezuela”.
