Catalan Civil Society (SCC) steps on the accelerator ahead of the demonstration that will take place in Barcelona, next Sunday, against the amnesty and self-determination referendum that ERC and Junts demand from the PSOE for the eventual investiture of Pedro Sánchez.
In a press conference, the president of the entity, Elda Mata, and the vice president, Álex Ramos, have outlined the latest details about a march that will coincide with the sixth anniversary of the great constitutionalist act of October 8, 2017, which was also organized SCC, on that occasion as a protest against the 1-O sovereignty consultation, held a week before.
The first block of the concentration will be reserved for members of civil society organizations, while political representatives will be in a second group. Although SCC has not officially called the parties, the leaders of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and Vox, Santiago Abascal, have already confirmed their attendance.. The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, also did so, on the same day that the Catalan association announced the call.
“We appreciate the presence of political leaders as citizens and that they have understood that the logos and banners of the parties are unnecessary,” said Ramos regarding the entity's request to maintain the transversal nature of the event, which is expected that a large group of people from other cities in Spain, such as Madrid, Valencia or Zaragoza, will also attend.
At the end of the march, which will run along the central Paseo de Gracia, both the vice president and Mata will speak from a stage where the historic former socialist mayor of La Coruña Francisco Vázquez, who was in office for 23 years, will also speak. with six absolute majorities, and the jurist and activist Teresa Freixes.
“Anti-Catalanist act”
The spokesperson for the Catalan Government, Patrícia Plaja, referred to the demonstration next Sunday at the press conference after the weekly meeting of the Executive chaired by Pere Aragonès: “It is not in favor of anything, but, once again, in against the Catalans. “It is an anti-Catalan act, it is clear who calls it and who has confirmed their attendance.”
And, next, he charged against Societat Civil: “We are not surprised by the convening party, which is those people who do not contribute, do not add, do not want to build and, simply, have Catalanophobia and criticize everything that comes out of Catalonia” .
In her appearance, the spokesperson for the Generalitat also had words for Feijóo's attendance at the 😯 event, “conditioned or not by the presence of Ayuso”, which was announced yesterday by the general coordinator of the PP, Elías Bendodo: “It would be good for him to reflect after last week's failed investiture to see what is happening in his party, which has become an extreme right that goes hand in hand with the extreme right.”
Award to Vargas Llosa
On the other hand, Societat Civil has announced the awarding of this year's 8 de Octubre Prize to Mario Vargas Llosa, whom the entity recognizes as “a tireless defender of freedoms.”. The Spanish-Peruvian writer gave, precisely, one of the main speeches at the 😯 2017 demonstration.
This award went in 2021 to the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, the Ciudadanos MEP Maite Pagazaurtundúa and the jurist Francesc de Carreras. A year ago it was the economist Francesc Granell who was posthumously recognized with the award.