It is absolutely shameful and reprehensible that Spain's foreign ministry devotes most of its efforts to discrediting the Catalan institutions and their representatives. This happens every day and as often as possible in as many places as possible. Against the independence movement, anything goes.
But there is nothing that reaches the depths of sectarianism, ignorance and moral ignominy that are plumbed by Global Spain, the government sub-ministry whose mission is to improve the perception of Spain abroad and also among Spaniards. To head this PR unit, prime minister Pedro Sánchez brought in Irene Lozano, a former parliamentary deputy for the strongly Spanish-nationalist party UPyD (Union, Progress and Democracy), led by Rosa Díez. Lozano is credited with giving acceptable literary style to the Spanish PM's book, Manual de Resistencia (Manual of Resistance), and thus becoming part of Sánchez's circle.
The truth is that, like foreign minister Josep Borrell, she seems to have carte blanche in her daily work to disparage the Catalan institutions as much as she can, using all sorts of lies. Her latest accusation against Catalan president Quim Torra, after he had corrected the Spanish justice ministry on the role of Spain in World War II, describing Torra's message as "continuing to propagate his hatred for Spain", is disrespectful and unacceptable from someone in a public position.
In particular, because what was indefensible was the video produced by the Ministry of Justice to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Paris from the Nazis, and the Spanish participation in that feat, which omits the sending of thousands of soldiers of Franco's Blue Division to fight alongside Hitler. Lozano would have done well to shut up, but that would not have won her any points in Madrid.