Congress reproves PP deputy Ana Vázquez over pepper spray but imposes no suspension

The reproval

The Mesa of the Diputación Permanente, the body that takes over when the Cortes are dissolved, approved a reproval of PP deputy Ana Belén Vázquez on Tuesday, 13 October. The PSOE and Sumar hold the majority in the bureau and voted for the measure. The reprimand follows the plenary session of 23 September, when Vázquez displayed a can of pepper spray during her question to Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Speaker Francina Armengol asked her to leave the chamber because the rules ban weapons in the plenary, and the pepper spray was treated as one.

Why there is no suspension

The PSOE and Sumar had already agreed to propose a one-week suspension of salary and duties. That suspension was to take effect in the first week of November, when no plenary session was scheduled, so it would not have changed the voting arithmetic. The proposal still had to be ratified by a plenary vote, and the dissolution of the Cortes for the general election on 29 November made that session impossible. The Mesa said the suspension would have been based on article 101 of the Reglamento, which lists carrying 'armas dentro del recinto parlamentario' as grounds for suspension.

The people responsible must not confuse the impossibility of imposing a sanction because of the early dissolution of the Congress with a pardoning of their conduct.

What the Mesa found

The Mesa says the spray affected 'dozens of people', one of whom needed medical leave, forced the evacuation of premises in three separate buildings and caused 'considerable' economic damage. It calls her conduct 'reprobable and harmful' and says she was 'politically responsible for a serious infringement' of the rules. It also criticised her attempt to 'shift responsibility onto a subordinate', a reference to a PP group aide who emptied the spray in two bathrooms of an extension building. Sources differ on the number affected: 20 minutos reports about twenty people, while La Vanguardia reports about a dozen who received medical attention. Several areas of the chamber were sealed afterwards. La Razón reports that complaints against the aide were filed at a National Police station over the damage.

The reason she gave

According to La Razón, Vázquez said women in Ceuta had to carry such products because of insecurity in the city after the assault of 30 and 31 July. La Vanguardia reports that she described the spray as 'basic school supplies' in Ceuta when she displayed it. Vázquez remains a member of the Diputación Permanente, the Mesa said, and the reproval will be recorded in the parliamentary minutes.