Spanish pressure has led to Catalan president in exile Carles Puigdemont withdrawing from a conference at a university, it was announced today. The event, entitled Political prisoners in Catalonia? And the defence of the land in Mexico, was to have been held at the Ibero-American University in Mexico City with the president taking part via videolink.
Allà on la repressió intenta posar barreres, la llibertat sempre s'obre camí.
— Carles Puigdemont (@KRLS) 5 de abril de 2019
Gracias a los estudiantes mexicanos por el esfuerzo que habéis hecho hasta el final! https://t.co/AemUv2OHc4
Translation: Wherever repression tries to put up barriers, freedom always opens the way. Thanks to the Mexican students for the efforts you've made to the end!
The event in question was the inaugural conference for the university's 2019 International Relations Week. Puigdemont was to have spoken alongside the university's academic deputy rector, Alejandro Guevara Sanginés and lecturers Armando García, Astrid Puentes and Asael Nuche González, as well as a representative of the Spanish embassy in Mexico.
Davant els canvis de darrera hora proposats per representants de la Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad México a l’acte de dilluns, el President @KRLS es veu obligat a renunciar a la seva participació. Ens informen que els canvis eren resultat de pressions d’autoritats espanyoles pic.twitter.com/2YY13ljvpb
— Josep Lluís Alay 🎗 (@josepalay) 5 d’abril de 2019
Translation: Given the last-minute changes proposed by representatives of the Ibero-American University of Mexico City to this Monday's event, president Puigdemont find himself obliged to cancel his participation. We're informed that the changes were the result of pressure from Spanish authorities.
According to sources close to the president, under pressure from Spanish authorities, the Mexican participants started withdrawing from the event. The embassy later announced it wouldn't send anyone either, so its place fell to the spokesperson of a group which signed a manifesto entitled "Christians for Social Harmony".
The university also reportedly told the president that the pressures from Spain, who had called him a criminal, left them with no choice. The president's advisers suggested he shouldn't enter into such a debate with someone who represented a specific opinion instead of the Spanish state.