The Assembly of Madrid experienced a new episode of maximum tension this Thursday during a debate on the victims of terrorism, which ended with a harsh confrontation between the deputy spokesperson for the PSOE, Fernando Fernández Lara, and the PP deputy Enrique Serrano.
The incident occurred during the discussion of a Non-Legislative Proposal (PNL) regarding prison permits for ETA members. The vice-president of the Assembly, Ana Millán, ordered the expulsion of Fernández Lara from the hemicycle after he attempted to speak out of turn. While leaving the Plenary session, he had a scuffle with Enrique Serrano, in a scene where several socialist deputies had to accompany him as he left the room.
Tension escalated when Fernández Lara took the floor to criticize the affirmation from the PP benches that "the victims" of ETA terrorism were on their side of the chamber.
At that moment, the vice-president of the Chamber corrected him, specifying that what had been stated from the Popular Group was that they had three victims of terrorism among their deputies --including Miguel Ángel Blanco's sister, Marimar Blanco, and the president of Dignidad y Justicia, Luis Portero, who was in charge of defending the PNL--.
When attempting to respond and censure the vice-president for not allowing him to continue, Ana Millán called him to order three times, which led to his definitive expulsion, while the socialist reproached the right-wing groups for their expressions.
The PSOE spokesperson in the Chamber, Mar Espinar, requested to speak and, after emphasizing that the debate had gotten "out of hand" for "everyone," denounced that shouts of "traitors" had been heard from the PP benches. Ana Millán refused to grant her the floor, and in response, the Socialist Parliamentary Group decided to abandon the hemicycle en bloc.
Immediately after, the discussion of another PSOE PNL was scheduled, this time on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The deputy Silvia Monterrubio, in charge of defending it, began her speech by asserting the "indignation" of her Parliamentary Group because "the victims are on both sides of the chamber." "The difference is that some of us do not intend to live off them," she concluded.