The pepper spray can that Ana Belén Vázquez brought to the chamber to denounce the situation in Ceuta could end up costing her a temporary suspension as a deputy. The Congress's lawyers consider that there are sufficient reasons to open a disciplinary file against her and now leave the decision in the hands of the Chamber's Bureau, which will address the matter this Tuesday.
The legal report dismantles the main argument with which the Popular Party parliamentarian questioned her expulsion. "This is not a weapon, it only has 30 milliliters and it is also empty," Vázquez maintained after leaving the Plenary. The legal services conclude that the aerosol should be considered a weapon for the purposes of the Congress Regulations and recall that the rule punishes the mere act of carrying it inside the premises, regardless of whether it is used or displayed as a threat.
Article 101 allows the Plenary to agree to the temporary suspension of a deputy for reasons of parliamentary discipline when carrying weapons in the Chamber's premises. The lawyers point out that there are no precedents for such a case during the current constitutional period, so any sanction must be motivated and respect the principle of proportionality.
If the Bureau opens the file, Vázquez will have a period to present allegations. An eventual suspension proposal will then have to be voted on by the Plenary in a secret session, during which only the spokespersons of the parliamentary groups may intervene. The affected deputy would be excluded from that vote and the measure could also have economic consequences during the time she remained suspended.
About twenty affected and three complaints
The episode began last Wednesday, during a question to the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, about the migratory crisis experienced in Ceuta. Vázquez showed the can from her seat and presented it as the "basic school material" that, she claimed, women and minors carried to protect themselves. The President of Congress, Francina Armengol, called her to order, demanded she leave the chamber and ordered her to deposit the container with the Police.
The controversy grew minutes later. A Popular Group worker admitted that the MP had asked him to "wash" the spray. When he handled it in a Congress restroom, the aerosol still expelled part of its content and the gas ended up spreading through several restrooms, a hallway, a kitchen, and a cafeteria. About twenty people were affected, twelve needed medical assistance, there was one sick leave, and there are three ongoing complaints.
The company in charge of the dining room has estimated the losses from contaminated food that had to be discarded at around 800 euros. The PP initially supported Vázquez's political objective and defended that she intended to make visible the insecurity reported in Ceuta, although its parliamentary spokesperson, Ester Muñoz, ended up acknowledging that the handling of the container was "wrong." This Tuesday, the Board will decide whether that bottle that the MP presented as empty leads to the first file of these characteristics in the recent history of Congress.
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