Following the announcement of the agreement by the Spanish Council of Ministers to pardon pro-independence social and political leaders, as the Mayor of Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, I would like to express the following:

A year and eight months ago, following the sentence by the Spanish Supreme Court, I appeared in this same Saló de Cent hall to share the indignation and frustration we felt at the harsh sentences handed down. It was a very sad day, a very grey day which affected many of us emotionally, those in favour of independence and those who are not.

That day, regardless of our stance on the relationship between Catalonia and Spain, at a human level there was nothing else we could do except stand by Joaquim Forn, a former First Deputy Mayor with this institution, Oriol Junqueras, Raül Romeva, Jordi Turull, Dolors Bassa, Carme Forcadell, Josep Rull, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sánchez, as well as their families and loved ones.

It was also a sad day as it signalled the failure of politics and the definitive judicialization of the process, taking us further away from solutions instead of closer.

Despite the sadness and the disappointment of that moment, I called for us not to give up. It was, and is, the responsibility of political representatives to seek solutions to problems and not generate new one. Because of this, nearly two years ago, I called for three things: freedom for those imprisoned, a sincere and ongoing dialogue and a political solution to be voted on by the people of Catalonia.

Freedom

Today finally brings the first of those three points: freedom. A freedom which many people would have wanted to come earlier, but a freedom which ultimately opens the door to a new era, a time of dialogue and solutions.

We have always said that freedom was the essential first step for moving onto new stages, firstly dialogue and then a time for solutions.

We have therefore made the first step, but we must understand that not everything has been solved. We can’t stop here. We need to definitively move onto the next stage.

Now we need to move forward with a reform to the criminal code, as the Council of Europe is demanding of us and as Amnesty International had already done, and for it to be in keeping with international legislation on human rights and the defence of freedom of expression and the doctrine of the European Court of Human Rights.

This reform must move us forward in terms of dejudicializing politics in Catalonia, to where freedom of expression is completely protected in Catalonia and all of Spain. The reform must enable everybody to express themselves freely, about independence, the monarchy or any other issue, and mean that we do not have to experience the shame of seeing politicians, artists, singers, trade unionists or anybody else imprisoned for expressing their opinion.

Dialogue is courage

Even today in public debate we encounter criticism over any possibility of dialogue, where dialogue is presented as a sign of weakness. That is why starting and maintaining a period of real dialogue takes courage.

In this respect, the Spanish government has been bold, because in the face of a lot of pressure and resistance they have finally taken the step which was needed. It is a step that many of us were calling for and which has now arrived at last. Now we need to keep facing dialogue with courage.

Because courage is not pitting one against the other, but rather understanding their reasons. Courage is not being the strongest or the proudest, but rather understanding complexity. Courage is accepting you will not achieve everything you would like. Courage is sitting, talking, engaging in dialogue, proposals and solutions. Let’s not let anybody hinder the path of dialogue and politics.

If everybody has had to move out of their comfort zone to achieve the official pardons, the same thing is going to happen with dialogue and the search for political solutions. We need to get out of our comfort zone and be bold to maintain this dialogue despite the adversities which will arise.

Solutions

This honest and sincere dialogue must lead to solutions. Today is not the day to prefigure them, but to express the will to build solutions together. It will not be easy, but we have an opportunity. Let’s make the most of it. It is time for politics, and political solutions must be voted on democratically.

My commitment as the Mayor of Barcelona, an open and diverse city of dialogue, is to help make it possible for the new stage which opens up today to be a success, which consequently ends up offering real solutions.

We will only find solutions through work, dialogue and listening. The success of this new stage thus hinges on politics forming part of the solution and not the problem. We have always said that this success cannot be about one against the other, but rather a collective success, of jointly constructing the solutions to our problems.

Climbing out of emotional defences

I would like to share a final reflection: we all deserve a new period to climb out of political and emotional dugouts. It is true that a new era is to begin in the political sphere, but in this new stage what I am also asking for is that we look after the human relationships between us more.

On top of the tension we have experienced over the last decade, spanning from the sentence on the Statute of Catalonia through to the arrival of the official pardons, today we can also add the emotional exhaustion following the pandemic and a social and economic crisis which we must overcome together.

We have suffered enough. Because of this I think we all deserve to begin a stage with less tension and suffering. We must stop prejudging, digging in our heels, defining unreconcilable sides. We deserve to listen to each other, to look each other in the eye again, to recognise mistakes but without holding them against the other.

We deserve a new stage of calm, of empathy, without running away from the conflicts but instead facing up to them in a different way, carefully, with respect for people and institutions. Without priorities and without prejudice, understanding that many people have suffered a lot, notably the prisoners and their families, but also Catalan society as a whole.

Today lightens our load and reconnects us emotionally. Let us capitalise on that too, to make it the start of a better future as a society. Without victors and vanquished, without humiliation or vengeance… Today is a day to imagine and between us all start to build a fairer, more fraternal, empathetic and human future. Let’s make that possible.

I end this institutional declaration some words by Arcadi Oliveres, a much-loved figure in Catalonia, of peace and dialogue, respectful of all perspectives and favouring consensus:

“We are obliged to never lose hope. Such as things are on this planet, if we lose it things will not go well for us. Times are tough, not just now but always, so more than ever we cannot lose hope”.