JxCat, ERC and En Comú have managed to reach an agreement in the Catalan Parliament to pass a bill censuring Spanish king Felipe VI initially promoted by JxCat and supporting the abolition of the monarchy. The Catalan chamber managed to pass the measure this Thursday after striking down an almost identical motion on Tuesday.
The measure passed with 69 votes in favour from pro-independence parties JxCat and ERC, supported by En Comú. The pro-independence CUP abstained. The other opposition parties, beyond En Comú, voted against the bill. Sources from CUP say they abstained because of one of the lines of the text, which made a call for dialogue and agreements.
Tuesday's version of the bill had been introduced by JxCat and only got the support of ERC and CUP. Without the votes of the imprisoned and exiled JxCat deputies, they didn't have the necessary majority to pass it. En Comú had opposed that version because it also included support for "reaching and democratically finalising the independence of Catalonia".
After Tuesday's defeat and the ensuing criticism, En Comú presented their own version of the bill which was the one that did get enough votes today, despite losing CUP's support in the process. It was the fourth of five bills presented for the group today by Jèssica Albiach.
The bill passed "rejects and condemns the stance of king Felipe VI and his intervention in the Catalan conflict" and "supports the abolition of the outdated and anti-democratic institution of the monarchy".
Other bills
That wasn't the only bill the Parliament passed today. With 90 votes in favour from JxCat, PSC, En Comú and CUP, ERC's bill condemning Francoism and the rise of the far-right sailed through. Notably, however, both Ciutadans and PP abstained. The text restates the chamber's commitment to "democracy and freedoms" and urges the Catalan government to eliminate any and all Francoist and fascist symbolism from public spaces, official buildings and monuments.
JxCat, ERC and En Comú also joined forces, this time with CUP too, to ratify Catalonia's right to self-determination. The bill, from CUP, passed with 73 votes in favour. The text "validates that there exists a popular, organised movement that represents 80% of the public which supports the right to self-determination as a right recognised by the Untied Nations". It also denounces an "important regression in political, social, economic, cultural and environmental rights with serious consequences for fundamental freedoms". An earlier version of this bill had also failed on Tuesday.