The PSOE has voted this Wednesday together with ERC, Bildu, PNV, Izquierda Confederal and Junts in the Senate a bill to modify the Penal Code in order to decriminalize insults to the Crown and outrages against Spain, such as burning of flags, despite the fact that in plenary it has not defended it, for which its consideration has been approved.
Finally, the Senate has taken into consideration the proposal presented by Esquerra Republicana and EH Bildu with 145 yeses. 111 senators have voted ‘no’, including those from PP, Ciudadanos and Vox.
The PSOE has changed its opinion since in the morning, the PSOE senator Artemi Vicent Rallo, during his speech, described the debate as “advantageous”.
According to him, it is necessary to guarantee, “of course”, criticism of any power, but he has said that this bill was out of the debate of the socialists, since what its promoters seek is to eliminate the Crown.
“The purpose of ERC today is to bring to the Senate the debate on the legitimacy of the monarchy in the constitutional system, an advantageous debate, because it takes advantage of this moment”, of controversy over the behavior of Juan Carlos I, “to confront the right” , pointed out the socialist senator.
Last June, both the PSOE and Podemos were already preparing to decriminalize insults to the King. The reform of the Penal Code that they propose aims to repeal all the articles that, according to Podemos, “collide head-on with freedom of expression or that have a difficult fit in a democratic system.” These are articles 490.3, 491, 504, 525, 543 and 578, in addition to modifications in articles 22 and 539.
The Popular Party senator Javier Maroto has denounced this position of the PSOE in this vote: «To everyone’s surprise, the PSOE has just voted in the Senate in favor of an ERC initiative so that the insults and slanders against the King do not have criminal consequences . Sanchez thus has a few more days in Moncloa. What will the price be tomorrow? .. », Maroto wrote on his Twitter.
