2023–2024 Spanish protests

2023–2024 Spanish protests against Catalan amnesty
Part of 2023 Spanish government formation
Demonstration in Plaza de Colón on 29 October 2023 (top); protest against the amnesty in Calle de Ferraz on 6 November (bottom)
Date29 October 2023 – 26 May 2024
(6 months, 3 weeks and 6 days)
Location
Spain
Caused by
Goals
  • Prevent the processing of the amnesty law
  • Resignation of Pedro Sánchez
  • Dissolution of parliament and calling of a new general election
MethodsProtests, demonstrations, civil disobedience, civil disorder (rioting, vandalism)
StatusFailed
  • Government of Sánchez invested
  • Amnesty law introduced
  • New elections not called
Parties

Protesters


Supported by
Lead figures
Casualties and losses
50 injured
+30 detained
36 injured

The 2023–2024 Spanish protests against Catalan amnesty were a series of protests which began in October 2023, resulting from the announced negotiations of then-acting prime minister Pedro Sánchez's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) with former president of the Government of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont's Together for Catalonia (Junts) party. These negotiations were aimed at forming a governing coalition after the 2023 Spanish general election.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo's People's Party (PP), failed to form a government as they could not muster enough support to reach a parliamentary majority. After Feijóo failed in his investiture vote, King Felipe VI tasked Sánchez with forming a government. The distribution of seats, after the election resulted in Sánchez being required to rely on Junts (with seven seats in the Congress of Deputies at the time) to vote in his favor to be able to form a government. Junts had not supported him in the formation of previous governments, having voted against him in his July 2019 and January 2020 investiture votes.

The starting position of Junts and Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) in negotiations were the amnesty of all participants in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, and the possibility of holding a new referendum. Catalan Civil Society (SCC), a group opposed to Catalan independence, called a demonstration for 8 October, in response to a potential amnesty. On 28 October Sánchez discussed the amnesty proposal at a PSOE Federal Committee, as part of government formation negotiations. Following the investment of Sanchez's government in the middle of November, the protests against Catalan amnesty began declining by late February, with new protests being called at the end of May days before the law was passed, having failed to achieve their objectives.