Esquerra’s spokesman in Congress calls for Catalonia to regain the power seized by Madrid

The spokesman for the Esquerra Group in the Spanish Congress, Gabriel Rufián, reproached the Spanish government on Wednesday for its recentralizing policy during the Covid-19 State of Alarm. “Centralization aggravates the situation,” said Rufián to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. “Only surgical management will get us out of this crisis. And this requires that the autonomous communities regain their powers now,” the spokesman enjoined, demanding that Catalonia decide its own deconfinement plan.

In his speech during the debate on the extension of the State of Alarm in Congress, Rufián called on Sánchez to resume talks at the Negotiating Table between Catalonia and Spain after the coronavirus threat ends, because “you have to talk about life, but also about politics.” “If we want to open a new age, let’s open it for real,” said Rufián, and urged the Socialist–Podemos coalition government to reactivate talks no later than next June.

Esquerra’s spokesman in Congress criticized the Spanish government for “having the virus data in one hand and management’s phone number in the other,” because “it doesn’t make sense that with thousands of infections every day, you can’t go to a wake for dead relative, but you can go to work in the metro.” “You listened to us on the flexibility of the city councils’ surpluses, on the guaranteed minimum income, on letting children out, and on the reduction of VAT for health products. Listen to us now,” he said.

Mr Rufián insisted on the need to put “experts” and not the “military or zealots” at the helm of crisis communication, and called on the Spanish government to “be brave” and implement a profound tax reform based on a brave wealth tax, a brave tax on financial assets and a brave tax on financial transactions.” “If we come out of this crisis today with tests, tests and more tests, tomorrow we will come out by strengthening what’s public,” he defended.