The imminent arrival of the month of August appears as the great ally for the “discretion” and “prudence” demanded by several of the actors involved in the negotiations for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez, focused above all on the votes of the seven deputies of Together for Catalonia. A dialogue that is presumed “difficult” and “complex”, as recognized by the leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz. However, the acting second vice president of the Government is convinced that they will be able to once again form a coalition Executive headed by the PSOE.

As he explained in an interview published yesterday in La Voz de Galicia, Díaz assumes that both the self-determination referendum and the amnesty will be addressed in the talks with Carles Puigdemont's party, since “in a democracy you have to be able to talk about everything”. Of course, the founder of the new left-wing platform pointed out that “the limits are the constitutional framework, the current legality and the democratic framework”. A framework that, according to Lander Martínez, a deputy elected by Vizcaya and one of Díaz's closest collaborators during Sumar's first steps, offers “many tools for decentralization, national recognition, jurisdiction and the construction of a federal or confederal State, even with asymmetrical character”, according to what he declared to Radio Euskadi.

Aware that the post-convergents face the negotiation displaying their votes at the price of gold, the also Minister of Labor pointed out that “no one can be more interested than the Catalans in that this goes well”. “The worst thing that could have happened to Catalonia and Spain is a government with Santiago Abascal as vice president,” he said in relation to a hypothetical alliance of the PP and Vox in La Moncloa if they had achieved a greater number of deputies.

electoral repetition

The danger of “an authoritarian mandate” was also raised yesterday by Ada Colau. The leader of the commons [Sumar's Catalan reference] warned Junts that an electoral repetition, in the event of a blockade, “would be playing with fire” and recalled that in Catalonia “there was a massive anti-fascist vote”. The former mayoress of Barcelona considers that there is an opportunity “to move forward in de-judicializing the political conflict and in other issues that have been pending for a long time, such as financing, the use of Catalan or the transfer of Cercanías”.

Colau considers that the independence formation led by Laura Borràs and Jordi Turull should distinguish between the investiture and the subsequent mandate when demanding its maximum program. “You cannot ask for things that cannot be done in two weeks, but you can lay the foundations to try to do it during the legislature,” he advised from the Rac1 microphones.

Given the proximity of the first litmus test, the composition of the Table of the Congress of Deputies, voices continue to arrive that try to appease the theoretical red lines in the negotiations. If a week ago it was the general coordinator of EH Bildu, Arnaldo Otegi, who guaranteed the support of his six parliamentarians for the re-election of Sánchez as president of the Government, yesterday it was the new Minister of Education of the Generalitat, the republican Anna Simó, who warned that a bipartisan Executive of the PP and Vox “would be devastating for education in Catalonia”. For this reason, in an interview in the newspaper VilaWeb, the leader of Esquerra maintained that “in no case can this government be formed due to inaction by the Catalan parties.” A responsibility that also includes the PSC, whose first secretary, Salvador Illa, has shown his rejection of a repeat election.

It was the great absentee during the general election campaign, but just a week later, the controversy over the irrigation law next to the national park promoted in the Andalusian Parliament by the PP and Vox has been reactivated again. The warnings of the Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno, about the consequences of the drought in the community and his intention to go to the European Commission for help have awakened in the central government the spirit of battle with the regional executive of the PP.

The acting Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, dispatched this Friday against Moreno, whom she criticized for making “a fuss” instead of taking decisive measures against drought and climate change. And, incidentally, he questioned him about Doñana.

Moreno has spent weeks, months rather, warning about the terrible impact that the most serious drought in the recent history of Andalusia will have on the economy of the region. This same Thursday, in Parliament, he warned of the loss of jobs that can occur in the agricultural sector at the return of summer if this autumn, like those of recent years, it continues without rain. In this line, it has made the requirement of the central government for hydraulic works a mantra that it repeats daily.

For Ribera, who has been the spearhead in the environmental battle of the Pedro Sánchez executive with Andalusia, the notices from the president of the Board are nothing more than “regrets” and he asked for “more action”, specifically, investments in “resilience and adaptation». «In water, soil, nature, coastline, well-insulated buildings and green cities. Doñana?», pointed out the acting minister.

“The problems of the Andalusians – and water and Doñana are some of the most important – are not solved with fuss, but with effective management,” the minister wrote in a thread on Twitter to respond to the message launched by Moreno in which he reported of his request to meet the president of the European Commission, Úrsula von der Leyen, to address the water problem.

Barely a week has passed since 23-J and the bloodiest open battle between the Junta and the central government, that of Doñana, threatens to escalate because, in addition, the Andalusian PP insists that they are not going to take a step back in the parliamentary process of the controversial law that will regularize between 700 and 800 hectares of irrigated land in the Condado de Huelva region, at the gates of the national park.

The unconstitutionality appeal against the law is taken for granted in the San Telmo Palace, but the intention, say the sources consulted, is firm: the rule promoted by the PP and Vox will see the light of day around the turn of the summer.

What's more, according to sources from the popular parliamentary group, the idea is to start in September directly with the last remaining paperwork, the presentation and the opinion and, from there, to the plenary session to be definitively approved.

With the electoral cycle over (except for surprise), with two elections in two months, in the PP they believe that the time has come to give the last push to a law that “is in our program” and that it comes, they insist, to repair ” a historical injustice” in the towns of the County.

If it is not already in force, it is, these sources admitted, because they did not want to make its approval coincide with the electoral processes, an argument that clashes with what happened with the regional elections of 2022, when Parliament processed the law just before the appointment with the polls. But it is true that in recent months it could be said that the legislative process has slowed down, if not frozen.

In the popular group they are reluctant to set specific dates, but they point to the second plenary session in September. So there would be time to solve the pending fringes. It will begin, these sources insisted, in “the first week of September, as soon as possible.”

Strawberry crops under plastic in the surroundings of the Doñana park, in the Condado de Huelva region, GOGO LOBATO

In fact, they added, if it has not approved before the summer break, it has been because it has not given time and, before those who see a slowdown, they assure that even with the summer involved, the law will be approved “in five months” and the last five urgently processed laws have taken between eight and ten months.

In the PP they consider it impossible at this point that a dialogue channel can be opened with the PSOE to agree on the law: the progress of the procedures and the socialist refusal even to present amendments close almost all the doors.

And in Juanma Moreno's party they reiterate that they are not going to give in to pressure: “there will be no change in any way, we are convinced that we are doing what we have to do,” they affirm.

In the Andalusian PP they expected that the 23-J would radically change the scenario with a victory that the government would give to Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Assuming that this is impossible, the situation returns to that of open confrontation.

In this sense, the executive is preparing to return to the battlefield with the central government, even though it is in office.

The Minister of the Presidency, Antonio Sanz, was in charge of responding this Friday and demanded that Pedro Sánchez's executive stop “attacking and mistreating” Andalusia and join Moreno's request to the European Union on the need to allocate funds for the construction of hydraulic works to combat the drought.

Mossos d'Esquadra agents have arrested a 34-year-old man allegedly related to the violent death of his 29-year-old partner, in the Nou Barris district of Barcelona last night.

The events took place around half past one when the Mossos received a notice to go to an address where they found the lifeless body of the woman and the suspect, who they arrested.. Upon arrival at the scene, the Emergency Medical System (SEM) has been activated, which certified his death.

The woman's body had several injuries, some fatal, and her death could only be certified by the health personnel who arrived by ambulance at the home of the Turó de la Peira neighborhood notified at dawn by the Mossos.

The agents have arrested the man as the alleged perpetrator of the death after some initial efforts at the scene.

The investigating court 1 of Barcelona, acting as incident guard, has proceeded this morning to remove the corpse of a deceased woman.

The Barcelona Criminal Investigation Division has taken over the investigation.

There is no history of violence.

Condemn and condolences to the family of the City Council

The Barcelona City Council, which has activated the mourning protocol for these cases, firmly condemns the femicide of a woman, a neighbor of the Nou Barris district, due to sexist violence, it said in a statement issued as soon as the facts became known.

In addition, he has conveyed his “deepest condolences to the family and friends” of the victim, firmly condemning this murder that violates the most essential human rights.

The City Council reiterates its support for all women who find themselves in these situations, committing to continue using, together with the rest of our country's institutions, “all the necessary efforts to advance guarantees regarding the basic right of women to live without no manifestation of this violence”. If confirmed as a sexist crime, it would raise to 31 the deaths of women for this cause so far this year in all of Spain.

This afternoon, the investigating court 2 of Girona, acting as a guard, has agreed to the provisional detention communicated and without bail for the man arrested in relation to the death of his ex-partner last Thursday in Girona.

The case is open for the crimes of murder, robbery with violence and sexual assault without penetration.

The 'Bribón', captained by Juan Carlos I, has achieved first position in the regattas that have been held this weekend, in the Pontevedra municipality of Sanxenxo.

Thus, with the ex-monarch at the helm, the boat has arrived at port minutes before 4:15 p.m., after more than three hours of navigation through the Pontevedra estuary.

Although on Saturday the 'Bribón' finished second, this Sunday the wind has blown in his favor and he has won first position.

In this way, minutes after 12:30 p.m. the 'Bribón' has cast off. On the starboard side, he was tied up by the semi-rigid auxiliary boat 'Cristina' until he went around the breakwater.

For her part, the Infanta Elena has sailed, this Sunday, aboard the sailboat 'Alibabá II' which, captained by Miguel Lago, has achieved second position. Third place was taken by the sailboat 'Aida'.

These two days of sailing have been those of the XXIV Carlos I Silgar Hotel Trophy regatta for 6m class boats, which is also the fifth scoring for the V Spanish League Circuit for this type of boat.

Aragonese and Catalan appear as “proper languages” of Aragon in its Statute of Autonomy, although they do not have the rank of co-officials. It is estimated that some 25,000 people know how to speak Aragonese, to which are added another 20,000 who understand and know it but do not express themselves in it. And they declare that some 17,000 people know how to write in Aragonese. Regarding Catalan, there are some 55,000 speakers of this language in Aragon, on the eastern border with Catalonia, and those who understand it would reach as many as 90,000.

The Government of Aragon, chaired by the socialist Javier Lambán, published in 2022 a decree regulating the use of their own languages in the field of public administrations. The objective was “to enable citizens to use the languages of Aragon in the public sphere, in the areas of predominant historical use and to comply with the provisions of current legislation”.

The aforementioned decree, published in the Official Gazette of Aragon, indicated that the public administrations of Aragon “will promote the knowledge of their own languages by all their employees”.

It specified that knowledge of the languages of Aragon “may be assessed in the selection procedures called by the public administrations of Aragon, when the characteristics of the job and the nature of the functions to be carried out so require”.

It added that, for this, the Administration of the Autonomous Community “will arbitrate the appropriate measures for the voluntary training of its workers in the knowledge of the languages and linguistic modalities of Aragon”.

unfavorable report

Now, the Consultative Council of Aragon has issued an unfavorable report that modifies the aforementioned decree. As a consequence, the Aragonese Government will not be able to “assess” the knowledge of the languages and linguistic modalities of Aragon in the selection procedures called by the public administrations, when the characteristics of the job and the functions to be carried out “recommend” it because it is areas of pre-eminent historical use.

As published this Sunday by Heraldo de Aragón, the aspects that raised the most doubts about the decree refer to how the areas of preferential use of the languages of Aragon are determined and whether it is “advisable” that the officials who provide services in them know them.

In both cases, the criteria of the Advisory Council is imposed by accepting the Aragonese Executive that they park, at least for the moment, to advance in the regulatory part with less controversy.

The greatest controversy referred to the effect that the application of the decree could have on the personnel selection tests in the areas of preferential use of Aragonese and Catalan.. In this regard, the opinion states that, although it is only “advised” that officials know the languages of Aragon, it is “contrary to Law.”

He argues that the zones must be established by law and also the “legal regime of the rights of use of the inhabitants of those territories”. It also indicates that the decree does not include “the way to prove the training of personnel in the knowledge of their own languages and linguistic modalities.”

The Advisory Council recalls that the General Directorate of Legal Services affirmed that the precept does not specify the objective criteria by which a call or a qualifying court can decide “that it is not enough to have an official degree and that a candidate must prove otherwise their knowledge of their own languages.

It adds that this could “endanger the principles of equality, merit and capacity in access to public service”, for which reason said article of the decree has been deleted.