At the beginning of the political course, many left-wing parties set themselves the goal of squeezing out what was left of the legislature and trying to pass as many laws as possible in the Congress of Deputies. Although it already seems somewhat distant, before the summer, the judicial siege on the President of the Government, his party and his family completely marked the political agenda and his partners believed that only with measures would citizens regain the lost trust in the left. The plan was to do this so that, in the event of an eventual electoral call, they could take pride in the progress in rights and that their potential voters would end up going to the polls to avoid a Government of PP and Vox.
The electoral advance announced by Pedro Sánchez yesterday has caused this plan to end in a dead end when the Cortes is dissolved, since the regulations that were being processed decline. With this dissolution, many laws that were key for the left remain in the pipeline and can no longer be approved. It is still paradoxical that Sánchez calls elections because the right did not approve his housing decrees and, with that act, condemns other issues that were also fundamental for the left.
One of the most striking is the reform of the so-called “gag law.” The rule was approved under the Executive of Mariano Rajoy and repealing it was one of Sánchez’s main commitments before even arriving at Moncloa. In the last legislature an attempt was made to repeal it but there was no agreement and in this one it has been addressed on multiple occasions, without success.
The closest that has been reached has been an agreement between the PSOE and Sumar to decriminalize, through a reform of the Penal Code, insults to the Crown, offenses to religious feelings, insults to Spain and its symbols and insults to other institutions such as the Executive itself. This matter was already in the Justice Commission, it was time to negotiate between the parliamentary groups, and different parliamentary sources were confident of being able to approve it before the end of the year. Now, however, he has died.
Something similar has happened with the nationalization of the Sahrawis, although this has an even more emotional component. Last September, Congress approved a rule to give Spanish nationality to around 90,000 people who lost it during the Franco regime and after the occupation of Morocco. That day, the Lower House was filled with numerous representatives of the Sahrawi people who celebrated a historic step in style.
However, the law was still pending ratification in the Senate and had not completed all parliamentary processing. This status is usually a mere formality on most occasions, since Congress can once again get its hands on a rule if the Upper House tries to amend it, but the truth is that it had not yet been approved in the BOE. When the Cortes was dissolved, the norm that was going to see the light in a very short time has declined.
Many laws that the Government had proposed to defend women’s rights will also fall. After the scandals involving former minister José Luis Ábalos, the socialists tried to unlock a feminist agenda, since women were very dissatisfied with the party and demobilized in the polls.
The one with the greatest impact is the reform of article 43 of the Constitution to protect abortion in the Magna Carta. This was already in parliamentary process and although some partners, such as the PNV, considered that it was not necessary to draw a picture in which abortion was in danger, it had a chance of ending up being approved. But it’s not the only one. The Vicarious Violence Law, promoted by the Ministry of Equality, and which passed its first examination in Congress last September, also declines. However, he did not finish the process and is now dead.
Another norm along these lines is the Organic Law against Trafficking and Exploitation of Human Beings, which had not yet reached the Congress of Deputies and was pending approval in the second round. It was progress by the socialists towards the abolition of prostitution, one of the keys to their agenda and which will surely be included in the future electoral program with which the PSOE runs for election.
These, however, are just a few samples of a much longer list that can include most of the Government’s regeneration plan, the Family Law and numerous other regulations. Pedro Sánchez, however, has preferred to start from scratch rather than try to approve them.