2023-08-17 17:42:20
The headline that October 15, 1977 looked proud: «The amnesty, approved in the Cortes». Less than two hours, ABC revealed, had been needed on the morning of the 14th for Congress to say yes, “with an overwhelming endorsement, to the bill prepared by the parliamentary groups.” There were 296 votes in favor, two against, 18 abstentions and one null. In the afternoon, the Senate did the same, and with more force if possible. That was, as has been repeated over and over again, the first rule approved by a democratically elected Parliament since the end of the Civil War.
And despite this, it still causes political ups and downs… And it will continue to cause them, because a law like the 46/1977 It is the one requested on July 25 by Carles Puigdemont’s lawyer to grant amnesty to the nearly 4,000 people who, in his opinion, “have been legally affected” by the process. In addition, it is also the norm that the Socialist Party would have promised to promote this Thursday in exchange for the votes of the seven deputies of Junts per Catalunya; all of them necessary to achieve the election of Francina Armengol as president of the Congress of Deputies. Do not look for coincidences, there are none; today is just another of the many concessions to separatism.
road to amnesty
The situation of those years has little to do with the current one. Spain was then looming at a new stage after four decades of dictatorship and a civil war hangover that, by the way, has not yet passed. “Freedom, amnesty and statute of autonomy” was the cry that was heard in the streets, and they dreamed of overcoming Francoism with the transition to democracy. On these pillars, affirmed the sociologist and intellectual Santos Julia In his article ‘Echar al olvido’, an amnesty law was forged that “was celebrated at the time as a reconciliation pact between the sides that faced each other in the Civil War.”
In the words of Santos Juliá, this maxim was made clear in the speeches of the representatives of the political parties of the time. In July, the first secretary of the PSOE, Felipe González, declared that “our people want to overcome the past and build a democratic and fair future, without trauma, peacefully.” Santiago Carrillo, at the head of the Communist Party (PCE), insisted that it was time to culminate “the process of reconciliation of the Spaniards with an amnesty for all crimes of political intent.” The latter, like the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), had in mind some attacks by ETA and many others by various left-wing groups.
The PCE and PNV were the ones who insisted the most since, a year earlier, another amnesty law, the one of July 1976 granted by the government of Adolfo Suárez, had set aside the members of the Democratic Military Union and to crimes of political intent that would have affected the life and bodily integrity of people. The idea caught on and, according to the Spanish expert, “the parliamentary groups of the Unión de Centro Democrático, Socialista del Congreso, Comunista, Minoría Vasco-Catalana, Mixto and Socialistes de Catalunya” presented the proposal on October 14, 1977. All except Popular Alliance.
In the essay ‘The myth of the Peaceful Transition’, the historian Sophie Baby argues that, during the parliamentary session in which the law was approved, there was a spirit of reconciliation and forgetting past wounds. The vast majority of the deputies were convinced that it was necessary to “erase”, “liquidate”, “close” and “bury” the conflicts of bygone eras. Both sought to overcome the dictatorial past, the Civil War and the attacks by the extreme left. “Blood events have been on both sides,” insisted the leader of the PNV. For the author, therefore, that shelved the past and sealed the peace.
ideas and evolution
On paper, the tentacles of the law caressed each other. To begin with, it allowed the release of prison and the return from exile of the members of the syndicalist, communist and anarchist groups. The law was clear in this sense: “All acts of political intent are amnestied, whatever their result, classified as crimes and misdemeanors carried out prior to the 15th of 1976.” In turn, it did the same with “crimes of rebellion and sedition”, “acts of expression of opinion carried out through the press” and “conscientious objection to the provision of military service”.
In exchange, it also granted amnesty to members of the State who, during the prosecution of defendants for the previous crimes, had committed an illegality. This was dictated by the norm: «The crimes and misdemeanors that could have been committed by the authorities, officials and public order agents, for the reason or occasion of the investigation and prosecution of the acts included in this law”. And the same thing happened with those who had violated “the rights of people” for the same reason. Everyone, beyond the political color, had their criminal records removed.
The problems, however, came years after the law was forged. The subsequent complaints for crimes against humanity, genocide and forced disappearance that followed one another from 1936 were the breeding ground that ended up hitting with the 46/1977. Since then, some groups such as ‘Human Rights Watch‘ They have requested that it be repealed because it does not allow this type of offense to be judged. “According to international law, acts that may be considered crimes under international law, such as forced disappearance or torture, cannot be included in this pardon,” he explains. ‘International Amnesty’ in his web page.
But, beyond the problems that it has brought with it, what is clear is that the law was created at a historical moment that is nothing like the current one. Because it was voted by majority; because it was not used as a political weapon, but as glue to unite a divided society… and because no one was blackmailed with it in exchange for votes.
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