Date Published: 16/04/2021
ARCHIVED - Spanish regions fear pandemic restriction chaos as the end of the state of emergency approaches
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Regional governments believe their powers to restrict travel will be limited after 9th May
As coronavirus incidence rates across Spain continue to rise gradually considerable concern has been expressed by various regional authorities this week over the national government’s insistence on ending the national state of emergency on 9th May, due to the fact that this may strip them of the power to enforce certain restrictions on movement and social gatherings which fall within the responsibilities of Pedro Sánchez’s administration in Madrid.
Chief among the restrictions which the regional governments are keen to retain are those which make it possible for the boundaries of regions, provinces and municipalities to be closed in order to restrict travel, along with the power to enforce night-time curfews like those which have been in force since 25th October last year. However, national government Vice-President Carmen Calvo maintains that the regional governments will still be able to enforce such measures through the Interterritorial Public Health Committee if it is observed that the situation is particularly worrying in any part of the country.
As things stand at present, with just three weeks of the state of emergency left, this might be the case in the regions of Madrid, Navarra and the Basque Country, all of which are reporting Covid-19 incidence rates above the “extreme risk” threshold.
Unfortunately, the nervousness of regional governments has not been lessened by Sra Calvo’s claims during a television interview that 99 per cent of the measures which were requested by regional governments prior to the start of the national state of emergency were approved by the courts of justice. Regional presidents and Supreme Court magistrates recall otherwise, but the government insists that practically all anti-pandemic measures will be possible other than the decision to confine people to their homes.
At the same time, the discomfort in the regions is exacerbated by the government’s repeated assertion over the last year that the state of emergency is “the only consitutional instrument” by which travel can be limited and local borders closed: this was one of the arguments used by the government in May 2020 for prolonging the lockdown measures towards the end of the first wave of infection in Spain.
In short, the legal niceties of the situation are complex and the constitutional rights of the regional governments in this field have never been put to the test, meaning that there is no precedent to follow. Critics fear that the consequence could be a chaotic approach to tackling the pandemic.
What is emerging, though, is that assuming that the government decides against renewing the state of emergency after 9th May, which appears to be the intention, the powers of the regional authorities will be unclear – opposition spokesman José Luis Martínez-Almeida fears they will be left “defenceless” - and this is causing considerable and understandable discontent at a time when many feel that a more authoritative and decisive stance could be adopted by the central government.
At the same time, the national government is understandably anxious about the accusations which will undoubtedly be directed towards it should the state of emergency be continued, with the hostelry and tourism sectors particularly vocal about their right to work during the summer tourist season.