The Government has delivered.

After an uncomfortable debate, it has brought forward the necessary parliamentary support for its Royal Decree on masks, which lifts its obligation to use outdoors and keeping the safety distance.

Because the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, has had to listen to the amendment to the whole that from two opposition formations, PP and Vox, have launched the Government's management in the management of the pandemic.

And in addition, he has had to listen to criticism of formations that have become bastions of the Executive's actions.

And he has had to suffer "abstention" from the validation of his decree by key partners for the remainder of the legislatures.

The parliamentary debate, however, has put on the table well differentiated interpretations between the political blocs.

From the ranks of PP and Vox, their spokespersons, Elvira Velasco and Iván Espinosa de los Monteros have made clear their rejection of the Government's proposal.

However, the PP has placed itself in the 'no' while Vox has opted for abstention.

The "popular" spokesperson explained that her vote was against because, among other arguments, the current reality does not point in that line, and has spoken of the "decree of smiles." He also interpreted that this initiative by Pedro Sánchez sought to camouflage the pardons. "It was an attempt to hide the pardons with Pedro Sánchez's announcement that we were once again enjoying a life on the streets without masks. And we are undoubtedly immersed in the fifth wave we are experiencing today. And while they ask us to support the decree of smiles, "said Velasco.

In the case of the Vox spokesperson, he also took the opportunity to link Pedro Sánchez's announcement of the end of outdoor masks, to the attempt to mount a "smoke screen" after approving the pardon for the independentists and recalling the Court's ruling Constitutional to the first State of alarm.

Two of the key formations in the legislature for the coalition government: ERC and PNV, have opted for abstention.

Josune Gorospe assured that at this time "there are no reasons to reduce the use of masks. The mutation that is rampant is the delta. Transmission is much more important than the indicators that were handled when he wrote this decree-law."

One of the great unknowns of the morning was knowing what ERC's position was going to be.

Finally, after a brief critical intervention on this point, their spokesperson announced that they would abstain.

The deputy Frances Eritja assures that the current incident "has forced us to resume containment measures that had been overcome."

He stressed that the mask has been one of the "most effective tools to contain infections."

However, he announced his abstention.

The Government has found support for the validation of the Royal Decree by Citizens, who have defended that these movements are being carried out with the endorsement of medical and scientific criteria. the spokesman for Citizens in this plenary session, Guillermo Díaz Gómez, remarked that, despite "some speeches", the mask "is still mandatory." "Some restriction that was adopted at a certain time is relaxed. We will vote favorably since the mask is still mandatory except when they go down the street and with a distance of one and a half meters." Díaz Gómez condemned the attack suffered by a health worker in the Madrid Metro for asking his attacker to put on a mask and congratulated the Police for the prompt resolution of the case. The validation was also approved by Bildu and Podemos.

EH Bildu spokeswoman Mertxe Aizpurua has argued that the "scientific evidence is clear": "Outdoor contagion is minimal if the distance is maintained."

Thus, and after asking for "political responsibility" and a greater "strengthening of Primary Care", the Basque parliamentarian has announced that her group will vote in favor of validation.

Minister Darias went out of her way to explain that this decree does not mean the end of masks.

"Masks are still mandatory," he said, "they have become an indispensable element in our lives."

"The wide vaccination coverage has allowed us to start a limited reduction of some measures. It is a prudent decision. It is adopted in a limited and progressive way."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • PNV

  • Carolina Darias

  • Vox

  • Ivan Espinosa de los Monteros

  • Pedro Sanchez

  • constitutional Court

  • Citizens

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