Belarra calls for the renewal of the Judiciary and affirms that not doing so is "bowing your head" in the face of the "blow to democracy"

The general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, surrounded by other members of the executive at the last State Citizen Council on December 17. Fernando Sánchez (Europa Press)

Without the presence or questions from journalists, the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, has made her own balance of the year this Thursday.

Two days after the appearance of President Pedro Sánchez, the head of Social Rights has released a video on social networks in which he boasts of the achievements of United We Can in the Executive, claims his party as the engine of transformations and once again asks for a legal reform that lowers the majorities necessary to renew the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), which has been in office for four years.

In a very harsh tone against the PP, which she accuses of "kidnapping" the institutions to "protect their corrupt", Belarra has urged to renew the governing body of the judges because not to do it, she warns her,

The minister mentions among the successes of the year the last decree of measures against the crisis approved this week, the

, the cap on the price of gas, the increase in the minimum wage or the norm that gives the right to unemployment to domestic workers, but the main measure promoted by the department of Vice President Yolanda Díaz is obvious: the labor reform.

An important part of Belarra's speech has focused on the crisis unleashed after the paralysis last week by the Constitutional Court of the processing of the reform promoted by the Government to change the method of choosing the members of the guarantee body and whose appointment by the CGPJ it was finally unlocked last Monday.

The general secretary of Podemos has referred to the existence in Spain of an "elite, small but very privileged" that "lives with its back turned to what the people vote for" and that "wants to continue demonstrating that it commands more than the president, the Government and Parliament."

"We have the obligation as democrats to stop their feet and to tell them very clearly that in Spain there can be no one above the law and above democracy," she stated.

We welcome the year 2023 and I take this opportunity to review what has been achieved in 2022 and wish everyone happy holidays.

My Christmas message 👇 pic.twitter.com/xmuTwTgOUT

— Ione Belarra (@ionebelarra) December 29, 2022

For the minister, the renewal of the Constitution was necessary to prevent the PP from "using" it to stop laws such as abortion or the

—It is the only moment in which he has mentioned a regulation that caused a great controversy in November for the reduction of sentences for some sexual offenders after its entry into force—, but he believes that the institutional crisis “remains open” and “will go further ”, reason why he asks that the Judiciary be renewed as well.

"I think that not doing so is bowing your head and accepting that the CGPJ has dealt a blow to Spanish democracy without any consequences," Belarra accused before charging against Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party.

“It is essential that we put an end to the kidnapping of institutions by the PP, which only seeks to protect its corrupt and achieve through its judicial arm what it did not achieve at the polls.

We must design a model for renewal of the Council that adapts to the new Spanish political reality and leave behind a system made to measure for bipartisanship ”, the general secretary of Podemos has once again claimed.

Faced with the popular blockade, Belarra's party has been advocating for a long time to reduce the necessary majorities in Parliament for the renewal of the CGPJ, going from the current three-fifths to an absolute majority and the support of 50% of the groups in the Chamber ( which at this time would avoid having to count on the support of the PP).

Achievements and pending issues

In addition to taking advantage of the progress made in the latest decree against the crisis, such as the freezing of rental prices for six months in those contracts that must be extended from now to June, the free commuter and medium-distance season tickets or the 50% reduction in urban transport, the minister has also stopped at one of the star regulations of the Ministry of Equality, directed by Irene Montero.

”The trans law has become a symbol.

Few laws better than this represent the contribution of Podemos within the coalition government.

We are the force that transforms, the one that puts the rights and needs of the people ahead of anything else”, Belarra claimed.

Among the milestones of the Executive, the general secretary of Podemos has not included the labor reform,

of which Díaz herself had taken stock 24 hours before, one year after its approval by the Council of Ministers.

The norm, which has achieved a decrease in temporary employment to historical lows, did not obtain the support of other groups of the investiture majority (such as PNV, ERC or EH Bildu) in its day and Podemos was always timid in its defense.

"It is not reasonable that we are going to enter the last year of the legislature without a housing law or repeal of the

," Belarra has critically acknowledged.

In the speech there has also been space for the commitment to diplomacy as an end to the war in Ukraine, but the electoral results of UP have been overlooked —with separate setbacks in Castilla y León and Andalusia— or the political cycle that is opening in 2023 and its first stop at the municipal and regional ones in May.