The protests by judges in the street demonstrating against a piece of proposed legislation from the Spanish Congress of Deputies that has not been passed or even begun to be debated are something as identifiable as paella or gazpacho: that is, they are made in Spain. That the same individuals who defend that Spain is a state of law and that a separation of powers exists take to the streets to protest against the proposed amnesty law, agreed on by the Socialists (PSOE) and the Catalan pro-independence parties to facilitate the investiture of a new government led by Pedro Sánchez, borders on nonsense and ridicule. Because beyond the ideology of each judge, magistrate or other type of judicial official, it is not the same to see members or supporters of a political party protesting in the street, who are within their right to express themselves through democratic means, as to see those who must administer justice, because that is their function and no other.
These are dangerous images that we are seeing these days in different cities, such as Sevilla or Córdoba, and which do not take place spontaneously, but are the result of mobilization calls, such as that made by the judge dean of Sevilla, Francisco Guerrero. The judge had asked all his colleagues to gather this Tuesday in the basement of the court building in the Andalusian capital to express the judges' rejection of the references contained in the PSOE-Junts agreement, specifically on everything related to lawfare, or the judicialization of politics, and its possible consequences. Well, if what they want is to protect themselves against accusations of lawfare, they are doing just the opposite, since by expressing their rejection of a legislative measure they give rise to the idea that their pronouncement, should the case arise, would be textbook lawfare.
New rallies have been called in the coming days in Jaén and Almeria and, as usually happens on these occasions, it is more than likely that this act of rebellion will end up spreading to other Spanish cities. Since none of this is accidental, I imagine that in this right-wing race to reach the perfect climax and thus create a situation as close to an insurrection as possible, we will be seeing things on a daily basis. Spanish politics have entered into an insurrectional spiral, and the right-wing media are doing nothing except encourage it. The latest revelation, a statement by 18 former Spanish ministers - two of them Socialists - and 150 ex-parliamentarians against the amnesty law. Among the many names, that of Rodolfo Martín Villa, accused in a criminal process that is investigating Franco's crimes in a criminal and correctional court in Argentina. Martín Villa is accused of a total of eleven aggravated homicides during 1976-1977, when he led Spain's labour relations ministry and, subsequently, that of governance. There are some travelling companions that you need to look at twice before you share a ride with them.
Over these weeks we are witnessing many moments of a type that we haven't seen for decades and that only those of us who lived through the last days of Adolfo Suárez's presidency are able to remember. The destabilizing machinery of the Spanish state, which has been acting with impunity against the independence movement - and in a very special way against exiled president Carles Puigdemont - has initiated a campaign to undermine Pedro Sánchez. We will see the consequences of this over the next few months, as it will not be a short-term situation. The opposition will be in parliament, but they will end up causing things to spill over because the machinery that has been set in motion is surely already unstoppable and the collision will occur. Sánchez has only one card to play: reform the state before the state acts to eliminate him.