Opposition urges Parliament speaker Borràs to resign after participating in unauthorized demonstration

Catalan parliament speaker Laura Borràs, of junior coalition partner Junts per Catalunya, is facing criticism from the opposition after attending Meridiana Resisteix, an unauthorized demonstration in Barcelona’s Meridiana Avenue on Saturday, February 12, 2021.

The politician was welcomed by around 800 protesters demonstrating after the Catalan interior minister had banned the gathering after 850 consecutive evenings. Since Catalonia's pro-independence leaders were sentenced to up to 13 years behind bars for organizing the 2017 referendum

Opposition forces on Monday pressured Borràs regarding her acts on the first evening of the ban. So far, the speaker has not responded to the accusations.

Lack of responsibility and calls for resignation

Marta Vilalta, leader for Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), senior coalition partner, called for responsibility. "Public and political responsibility should be foremost. This is the way to defend and honor public institutions," she said, adding "it is surprising that Borràs can take part in a demonstration against a government decision.”

"It is not normal," socialist opposition leader Salvador Illa said. The decision to "demonstrate against a government decision" should have consequences, he highlighted. But it is not up to him to decide on how to proceed, despite the fact that the situation "does not make sense in any way."

The People’s Party (PP) has even called for Borràs to resign after taking part in the Meridiana Resisteix demonstration. "The parliament speaker went to the avenue and pushed for disobedience with her presence," Lorena Roldán, PP MP said.

Even Catalan interior minister Joan Ignasi Elena considered Borràs acts a "mistake" as he said during an interview on Catalan public radio on Monday morning. He was even "surprised" and added that he felt "quite upset".

Unionist party Ciudadanos accused Borràs of leading like "Pinocchio" due to the "uncertainty of knowing what is true and what is a lie," MP Anna Grau said.

CUP MP Juvillà case in question

Laura Borràs is in hot water as she is also involved in another controversial subject. The Catalan parliament removed pro-independence CUP MP's Pau Juvillà seat after a legal dispute.

Recent events pushed opposition forces to ask for an extraordinary parliament bureau meeting open to all political parties. The meeting, held on Monday and led by Borràs, was used to explain Juvillà’s MP situation chronologically.

However, the parliament speaker blamed public workers saying that "it was an anomaly" to follow secretary-general rules without the bureau knowing about it.

After her speech, parties responded saying there is a "lack of transparency," as republican Meritxell Serret said, or even that Borràs "had lied," claimed socialist Raúl Moreno.

On February 3, the Catalan parliament published Juvillà's removal as a lawmaker as of January 28, as a result of a "legal obligation," as parliament secretary general Esther Andreu said before the decision was published.

Juvillà's case dates back to the 2019 municipal election period when he was a Lleida city council member, and he did not remove yellow ribbons from the CUP office in the town hall despite being ordered to do so by the Spanish electoral authority during an electoral campaign.