Spain is bearing today the most ruthless clash among political extremes of her little more than 25 years Constitutional Monarchy, which, sadly enough, shows the fragility of our democratic convictions and understanding.
The harsh confrontation opposes basically right and left "isms" as well as central nationalism versus peripheral nationalisms, heated up by the issue of terrorism and by the active participation of Catholic representatives in almost every political debate (the Spanish Conference of Bishops, the higher religious committee, self-arrogated as national cultural core, intermingle the defense of nation-state union with considerations over family, education, terrorism or immigration in what has come to be a constant attack of any socialist measure).
But let me reframe a bit.
On Religion:
Taking away the laicism of our 1932 Constitution, the modern 1978 one privileges Catholicism over any other religious cult, which is translated in strong direct and indirect economical compensations as well as in an open allowance of cultural empowerment -by providing for example Catholic religious classes, teachers and priests in every public school, at hospitals, prisons, etc.
This privileged position is being menaced though due to a growing agnosticism among the population paralleled by the proliferation of different cults -mainly Muslim- that accompany a significant immigration flux. Also, the liberal (leftist) educational programs, which encourage the development of a critical capacity of pupils through the understanding of democratic concepts and the realization of their unique identities as free individuals, add up to the specific threats that the preeminent Catholic position upholds.
From here, the Catholic political stands can be well understood: Defense of limiting immigration, arguments to limit immigrant cultural expressions, confrontation with the demands of other religious groups to occupy a space at schools or in any public situation, confrontation with any educational program able to menace their own cultural views, argumentation in order to blend the concepts of Spanish Catholicism (religious status quo) and cultural heritage, etc, etc.
In any case, even though Catholicism is adding up to the noise, especially by their twisted misuse of democratic arguments, they are not the core of current confrontation.
On Terrorism:
The 11-M terrorist attack in 2004, just three days prior to national elections, can easily be traced back as one of the sparks that started it all. The right winged Partido Popular (PP), contradicting police evidence and international understanding, insisted during those three days in the negation of a radical Islamic link with the attacks, affirming that Basq terrorist group ETA was responsible for it.
Different international press agencies denounced Spanish government pressure to relate the attacks to ETA, contradicting their own information of Al Qaeda's involvement. In the mean while Spanish media divided, siding up with either one or the other theory. The consequent growing wave of popular repulse against the government was due, more than to the terrorist attack itself, to the stubbornness of the PP (and of part of the media), unable to admit Al Qaeda's responsibility, which was understood as an unacceptable lie by the populace. At the end, and though running as favorite, the PP lost the elections in favor of the socialist party (PSOE).
---
The PP has not been able to swallow their electoral debacle leading from then on a campaign of harsh attacks against whatever socialist measure -including conspiracy theories in which ETA and the socialist government would be involved in the 11-M attacks-, with no other political recompense than increasing social tension and divisions.
The pick of social division was reached recently when the government allowed ETA's assassin Antonio De Juana to end at home his one year of imprisonment left, after a very much publicized hunger strike of the prisoner.
---
Since the PSOE reached power, the government has been leading a negotiated end of ETA's terrorism -which is something that all previous governments, left or right winged, have tried at one point or another. The -old now- political pact by which the measures taken by any government on the matter of ETA's terrorism would be discussed but never used as political weaponry, ended up soon after PP's political draw back.
Terribly debilitated and losing by the day their scarce popular support ETA announced an indefinite cease fire. PP's opposition started then a public, derogative and very aggressive campaign denouncing (and wanting to prevent) any type of negotiation with the terrorist group. Beyond any other consideration, the PP seemed more than ever fearful of the socialist plausible political gains derived of achieving the final end of ETA's terror -which justified their frontal attack.
It is at this point that the case of De Juana (DJ) gains significance. DJ, convicted for the execrable assassination of 25 people during the eighties, had managed to legally reduce his condemn from more than 3.000 years to 18 years of imprisonment. At the time of his liberation he was kept in prison for technical reasons. DJ published then two articles in a Basq newspaper that were later used to charge him with 90 years for terrorist menaces. This condemn motivated DJ's hunger strike.
The case arrived at the Spanish Higher Court where DJ's condemn was significantly reduced to three years for general -not terrorist- menaces (he mentions 'blood' and 'Spain' in one phrase; his rather stupid articles constitute actually an angry outburst for not being liberated more than anything else). In any case, of his three years condemn he had completed two already, and his hunger strike was menacing to transform him in a sort of martyr -DJ had stated that he would either get freed or die. The government then, making use of its prerogative, decided that DJ should end his condemn in home confinement -once he is allowed to exit the hospital in which he is currently being taken care of.
The unpopular decision of the government -who is accused of liberating an assassin and of secretly trying to negotiate ETA's end- is being used up to nauseating extremes by the opposition, coinciding with the ongoing 11-M judgment and the PP unveiled accusations of ETA's (and PSOE!) involvement. Lacking either political experience or ability, the government falls to the dirty game of cross accusations with the PP, thus forcing the population to take sides for no other than emotional reasons.
The analysis, constructive discussions or the necessary reevaluation of our imprisonment policies are left aside, substituted, slowly but consistently, by propaganda bursts of either color, while witnessing a growing physical confrontation in the streets.
On Stupidity:
Not surprisingly a small town (Villaconejos; "Rabbit Town") has recently refined the concept of popular lynching when more than four hundred people managed to burn the house of a town's thug... when the thug was in prison! His wife and their old parents had to run for their life -a little bird was killed in the fire. The mob, proud of the action, invoke an old poem's cry to justify their action; "all together", they say.
It seems this is as far as we have gone into understanding the democratic game.
Perfil en LinkedIn
Check out Alf's trip to Antartida and our latest snow-adventure... 
Recent Comments