Does Spain have a government? What is the amnesty? Who was shot in the face? Will Catalonia be independent? Why are people angry and protesting? Who is Spain's Prime Minister?

CGTN answers all your questions.

What's happening in Spain? 

An amnesty deal between Spain's Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) party and Catalan separatists has lit the fuse on angry protests in Madrid, which has seen successive nights of unrest. 

Twenty four people were arrested as anger and violence flared on the streets on Thursday night – a seventh straight night of protests – as around 6,000 people surrounded the socialist party headquarters in central Madrid.

What is the amnesty deal?

The deal will allow Catalan leaders who organized the 2017 attempts to declare independence for Catalonia to return from exile without facing charges for sedition. 

Carles Puigdemont is the leader of the JUNTS Catalan separatist party and one of the architects of the 2017 illegal referendum and attempts to declare Catalonia – a region in northern Spain – an independent country.

Puigdemont and others have been living in exile in Brussels since then, but now they can return to Spain and continue to advocate for Catalan separatism.

Who was shot in the face? 

The amnesty deal made a lot of people very angry in Spain, particularly on the right of Spain's political divide.

Tensions rose further on Thursday when a prominent conservative political figure was shot in broad daylight in an apparent failed assassination attempt. Alejo Vidal Quadras, 78, was shot near his home in the upmarket Salamanca neighborhood of Madrid. Neighbors described a black motorbike stopping, one person getting off, approaching the victim with their helmet still on, and firing a single shot from a distance of around two meters.

Miraculously, the bullet passed through his jaw leaving him with two fractures – but alive, and he is now recovering in a Madrid hospital.

Outspoken and engaged in the political discourse, Vidal Quadras tweeted an hour before being shot that the deal with the Catalan Separatist party was shameful and that Sanchez and Carles Puigdemont are shredding the rule of law. Quadras is an ex-People's Party (PP) president in Catalonia and one of the founders of the far-right Vox party.

Much speculation surrounded the motive behind this attack, particularly considering the timing, but yesterday the victim himself told the police that he believes his links to the Iranian opposition in exile are behind this, pointing the finger at Tehran. Quadras had been blacklisted by the Iranian authorities because of those ties.

Will Catalonia be independent?

The amnesty deal signed in Brussels did not contain anything about a new legal independence referendum for Catalonia.

Socialist party No.3 Santos Cerdan said on Thursday: "Of course we spoke about a referendum, and they know the Socialist Party position. Anything we do is going to be within the constitution. That's our red line and they know that anything related to a referendum, we will stick to the constitution."

In the most recent official poll Catalan independence support appeared to have dropped to around 40 percent of the population and in the most recent general election independence parties slipped in support.

The return of Puigdemont and the reuniting of JUNTS in Catalonia could boost the campaign for independence, but it's not clear whether it has the necessary support to achieve its ultimate goal.

Why are people angry and protesting?

People are protesting in Madrid and elsewhere because they oppose the amnesty deal, the idea of a socialist-led government, or for both of those reasons. 

Spain's right wing and nationalists have reacted furiously to the amnesty and the prospect of Sanchez winning another four-year mandate. Many say Sanchez has given Puigdemont a 'get out of jail free' card and betrayed Spain.

At the protests in Madrid chants of 'Puigdemont to Prison' and 'Sanchez to Prison' – along with signs bearing the same words, were among the most polite on display.

"Traitor," "liar," "humiliation," and "shame" were some of the words flying around, while Isabel Ayuso, the influential president of the Madrid autonomous region, called the deal "the beginning of a backdoor dictatorship."

'Attempted coup'

Vox leader Santiago Abascal said on Thursday: "This attempted coup by the PSOE and Junts is a threat to national unity and the law, a coup-mongering agreement that means the end of the rule of law, the beginning of the end of democracy, and the delegitimization of all our institutions."

Incendiary language on the right appears to follow a strategy to try and make it impossible for Sanchez to govern, to hamper and delay this amnesty deal, and to continue to foment unrest and protests, attempting to destabilize this broad coalition government.

Who is Spain's Prime Minister?

Right now Spain doesn't have one. Pedro Sanchez is acting PM following the inconclusive elections on July 23 when no party or coalition won a majority to allow them to form a government.

Negotiations with JUNTS to get this amnesty deal on the table have been going on for months and now Sanchez and the socialists have a majority to lead a broad coalition.

A vote in Congress to form a government with Sanchez as Prime Minister now looks to be a formality and government sources say that is likely to happen on Wednesday (November 15) or Thursday (November 16).

Meanwhile we can expect more anger and unrest as the fierce opposition to this amnesty deal and Sanchez grows in volume.

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