Exiled separatist leader is likely to return to a very different Catalonia
Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is expected to return to Spain following a court decision regarding an amnesty law. He returns to a region that has shifted from separatist fervor to a more cooperative political climate under Socialist leadership.
Why it matters
The return of a key separatist figure marks a significant turning point in Spanish domestic politics and Catalan regional stability.
Supporters of Carles Puigdemont in 2024 when he made a fleeting return to Barcelona and was not arrested. Supporters of Carles Puigdemont in 2024 when he made a fleeting return to Barcelona and was not arrested. Carles Puigdemont Analysis Exiled separatist leader is likely to return to a very different Catalonia Stephen Burgen in Barcelona Nine years on from a failed independence push, former president Carles Puigdemont will find times have changed
After years of legal wrangling, Spain’s constitutional court is expected to remove the last obstacle to the return of the former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont after nearly nine years in exile this week.
Puigdemont fled in 2017 to avoid being jailed for his part in the failed and illegal independence push for which nine of his colleagues were imprisoned on sentences of up to 13 years, although all were released within three years.
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