The Sanitary Cordon Blocks Part of the Activity in the Parlament

The entry of Vox into the Parliament of Catalonia, in 2021, prompted the union of the rest of the parties except the PP to form a cordon sanitaire. Its mission is to hinder the parliamentary activity of the "far right" and marginalize Vox from political life in Catalonia.

The cordon sanitaire, dubbed the "anti-fascist pact," has been expanded in this legislature to also include Aliança Catalana.

One of the consequences of the cordon sanitaire is the blockage of the different bodies and committees of the Parliament. For example, the petitions committee. Vox claims that the committee has been paralyzed for months because the rest of the parties refuse to recognize its legitimate right to the presidency.

Blockage of the Petitions Committee

The petitions committee is the body responsible for processing the petitions that citizens make to the Parliament. Its composition and leadership are determined based on the representation of each party.

According to Vox, the president of the committee, Ennatu Domingo (Junts), resigned in September 2024. The Parliament's Board agreed that the presidency then belonged to Vox, which presented Mónica Lora as a candidate.

The committee met on November 5 to ratify the agreement, but it was not validated after the vote. This prevented the constitution of the committee. A new session was convened on November 28, which was boycotted by the rest of the parties.

Only the deputies from PP, Vox, and Aliança Catalana attended that session. Due to the lack of sufficient quorum, the session was adjourned, and the conflict was referred to the Parliament's Board.

Vox reported to the Parliament's Board the violation of article 49.2 of the chamber's regulations. It alleged that PSC, Junts, ERC, Comuns, and the CUP were preventing the normal functioning of the parliamentary committee. And with this, they were restricting the essential right of citizens to process their petitions.

27 Petitions Blocked

The consequence is that since the constitution of the committee last July, none of the petitions have been processed. At this moment, there are up to 27 petitions blocked pending processing.

Vox denounces the blockage by PSC, Junts, ERC, Comuns, and the CUP, with the complicity of the Parliament's Board. It warns that this violates not only the chamber's regulations but also the Spanish Constitution and the Statute of Autonomy. "It not only violates Vox's essential right to political participation," party sources say, "but also the exercise of the citizens' right to petition."