Immigration vote failure in Congress sparks war of words between pro-independence parties

Pro-independence parties Junts and Esquerra Republicana (ERC) exchanged barbs on Wednesday, the morning after a vote on transferring immigration powers to Catalonia failed in the Spanish Congress.

Junts – who proposed the legislation as part of a deal with Spain's ruling Socialists – accused left-wing ERC of being out of touch.

Junts spokesperson in Congress, Míriam Nogueras, advised ERC's Gabriel Rufián to "step down from the podium and walk the streets of Catalonia."

"He should listen to the people and stop following the populist Spanish left," she added in an interview with Catalunya Ràdio.

Nogueras also called out Socialist leaders in Catalonia – President Salvador Illa and interior minister Núria Parlon, asking "Where are they?"

"The easiest thing is to stay on the sidelines and avoid getting involved," she warned. "But politicians who stay on the sidelines are the ones who let problems grow."

"Unpatriotic to hate immigrants"

ERC's Gabriel Rufián, urged Nogueras to "stop harming Catalonia."

"It's very unpatriotic to hate a large part of the country, he said in an interview with Catalunya Ràdio.

"What Nogueras did in her speech was express hatred toward immigrants in Catalonia," he added.

Rufián labeled Nogueras' speech during the debate in Congress as "miserable" and attributed it to pressure from the far-right pro-independence Aliança Catalana, who are gaining ground according to recent polls.

Even so, Rufián defended the proposal, insisting that the powers were intended "for Catalonia, not for Junts."

Government defeated

Congress rejected the proposal by 177 votes to 173 after left-wing Podemos voted against it, along with the conservative People's Party (PP) and far-right Vox.

The Spanish government is willing to present the proposal again, and promises to use other governmental mechanisms to promote the devolution of immigration powers.

Bringing the law to Congress was one of the commitments the Socialists made to Junts in exchange for supporting Pedro Sánchez as prime minister.

The Spanish government is a left-leaning minority coalition which relies on the votes of several smaller parties – including ERC and Junts – to pass legislation.