The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, accepted Alejandro Fernández's challenge and publicly condemned the expressions of "Puta Espanya!" during the general policy debate. The unusual gesture brings positions closer between PSC and PP on an issue they had previously avoided.
The Parlament de Cataluña was the scene this Tuesday of a dialectical exchange that ended in an unexpected point of agreement. The leader of the PP in Catalonia, Alejandro Fernández, challenged the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, to publicly condemn the expressions of "Puta Espanya!" that, according to him, have been directed against political leaders from various parties. The information, reported by El Confidencial, indicates that Illa accepted the challenge and responded with an explicit condemnation.
"And I condemn the expression puta España, puta Cataluña and puta whatever, because I have never used it and I have always condemned bad manners and expressions of hate. This one too," declared Illa from the podium. The gesture verbalizes a problem that had previously been sidelined and positions the PSC, the party with the most weight in the Corporación Catalana de Medios de Comunicación (CCMA), according to the published information.
"I ask you to publicly condemn the expressions of puta Espanya made and referred to important political leaders of some of the political formations present here. When you do, then we will believe your rhetoric about your supposed fight against hate speech," Alejandro Fernández had shot at Illa.
The origin of this shout dates back to comedians from the independentist environment, such as those from the collective La Sotana, who popularized it under the guise of humour. Over time, the expression has permeated public media of the Generalitat, in TV3 programmes and in political columns. Figures like Jair Domínguez, Peyu or Joel Díaz have used it on screen, and in May 2026 some podcasters shouted it after receiving an award linked to the CCMA: "Puta España, and puta PSC and long live the Països Catalans".
The leap into institutional politics occurred in early September, when the mayor of Santa Eugènia de Berga, Xavier Fernández (Junts), closed his speech at the Fiesta Mayor before the neighbours with a "puta España" and a "visca Catalunya lliure". Until now, Junts, ERC and even the PSC had avoided entering into controversies about this type of manifestation, while Comunes and CUP practically supported them for reasons of freedom of expression or ideological affinity.
The debate this Tuesday in the Catalan Chamber changes the scenario. Illa's condemnation comes after the PP and the PSC have agreed to classify the "Puta Espanya!" as a hate expression and not as humour. Parliamentary sources emphasize that the exchange between Fernández and Illa, usually heated, this time led to a principle of agreement that could mark the political agenda for the coming weeks.
The gesture has implications for the daily lives of citizens: it brings visibility to a debate about institutional respect and the limits of humour in Catalan public media, which are funded with public money. The CCMA, controlled by an agreement between ERC and PSC, is the body that regulates this content. From now on, the ball is in the court of the parliamentary groups to translate this condemnation into concrete measures or a code of conduct for public media.
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