The judge investigating actress Elisa Mouliaá following the lawsuit filed by Íñigo Errejón for alleged defamation has ordered her arrest and that she be brought before the court. This was agreed 24 hours after the actress failed to appear for the third summons as an investigated party. In the ruling, to which ARA has had access, Arturo Zamarriego argues that Elisa Mouliaá "has repeatedly expressed her intention not to appear" in court, which demonstrates a "clear and unequivocal intention to evade the action of justice." The arrest warrant will be in effect until June 2031. Furthermore, the magistrate is forwarding testimony to the deanery of the Madrid courts to determine if Mouliaá's "repeated non-appearance" constitutes a crime of disobedience to judicial authority. The actress was summoned this Monday at eleven in the morning at the Plaza de Castilla courts, but she did not appear, alleging that she was working abroad, and assured on social media that she was available remotely.

Pedro Sánchez's partners are increasingly uncomfortable with the alleged corruption cases affecting the Spanish government, and this Tuesday Junts made a move: although they have been calling for elections for weeks, they have registered an amendment to a PP motion for the Congress of Deputies to rule on the matter. However, the chamber's board, with the votes of the PSOE and Sumar, has vetoed the vote and it will not take place: the argument is that calling elections is an "exclusive" competence of the Spanish president and that, therefore, the Junts initiative "invades constitutionally reserved powers" of the head of the executive. The amendment was going to go ahead and would have been a hard blow for Sánchez in a week horribilis for the judicial agenda surrounding the PSOE: despite not being legally binding, it would have been politically evident that he does not have the confidence of Congress and that a majority is demanding new elections.

Mariano Rajoy knows what is expected of him and does not hesitate to give it to his followers. "In football, what really matters is scoring more goals than the opponent. If you don't, you lose. Or, at best, you draw." Yes, the former Spanish president returns to sports commentary for the World Cup and, again, in the digital media El Debate, which four years ago — also for the World Cup and, later, for the European Championship — already opened its doors for him to publish his analyses of the Spanish national team's matches. Rajoy does so without pay and, in fact, without writing: he sends audio notes when the matches end so that the media's editors can transcribe them. He did so this Monday after the draw of La Roja against Cape Verde.

"Never ever". And so for about twenty times. The Director General of the Civil Guard, who appears splashed in the Leire Díez case file, denies categorically and emphatically that she intervened in any way in the maneuvers to "obstruct" judicial proceedings being investigated by the National Court. "I have never participated in any plot or conspiracy against the UCO, I have never participated in any smear campaign against the UCO, and I have never taken any action against any UCO agent," proclaimed Mercedes González just as the appearance began before the Senate Interior Commission, convened by the absolute majority of the PP.

Glòria Freixa (Barcelona, 1969) says she is running in the primaries for her children. She exudes drive and conviction.

A bus from Hazte Oír passes in front of the instruction courts of Plaza Castilla in Madrid announcing the good news: Begoña Gómez, wife of Pedro Sánchez, indicted for four crimes. A dozen people with Spanish flags and banners of "Corrupt Sánchez" shout and applaud as it passes, while about twenty journalists keep watch at the doors of the building with a large police presence. This Monday was a key day for the judicial case affecting the wife of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez: Judge Juan Carlos Peinado has summoned Begoña Gómez for a hearing prior to a possible jury trial and, furthermore, has asked the parties if they wanted to take precautionary measures. Hazte Oír, which groups the popular accusations, has requested the withdrawal of the president's wife's passport and that she be prevented from leaving the country because they believe there is a risk of flight, in addition to the obligation to report to the court every fifteen days and financial measures to prevent her from using the companies under suspicion. However, it has not requested preventive detention.

In the middle of a horribilis week for the PSOE due to the judicial agenda against Pedro Sánchez's circle, the socialists and Sumar have agreed to unblock one of the pending issues in Congress. The two formations that make up the Spanish government have announced the push for the reform of the Penal Code which includes, among others, the repeal of the crimes of insult and slander against the Crown and offenses against religious feelings. This modification proposal had been shelved in the lower house for more than two years. The pact recovers the bill presented by Sumar at the beginning of the legislature – it was taken into consideration by Congress at the end of 2023 – and plans to abolish fines and prison sentences of up to two years for insulting or slandering any member of the Spanish royal family or for using their image in a way that "could damage the prestige of the Crown", as currently established in the Penal Code.

A new report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, to which ARA has had access, supports the alleged leadership role that Santos Cerdán would have exercised in the Leire Díez case. The National Court is investigating an alleged "criminal structure" to "obstruct" judicial proceedings and "protect the interests" of Pedro Sánchez. The 107-page document reinforces the existing evidence and, among other things, includes a report on the "management of travel expenses" related to Santos Cerdán and other members of his team in 2024 and 2025, which was prepared by the PSOE and handed over to the UCO three weeks ago. "He gave verbal instructions to his support staff to authorize any trip requested by Leire Díez in such a way that she personally communicated with the Secretariat staff to request trips," the report by Santiago Llorente, coordinator of the party's management, states.

The People's Party of Catalonia is also approaching the far-right and hardening its discourse on immigration. The national PP has done so in recent months, and now the Catalan Populars are reproducing it in their political paper, which the party must approve at its 16th congress on June 27 – it is the text that will mark the strategic line of the party in the coming years. Under the premise that "those who come to commit crimes must know that they have no place in our society," the Populars demand "the immediate and effective execution of expulsion orders for any foreigner in an irregular situation who commits a crime," thus focusing on the fight against repeat offending.

The Official State Gazette (BOE) publishes a macro-call to fill up to 700 positions for judges and prosecutors. After the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, had announced it on several occasions over the past few months, the call is specified this Monday with 375 positions for judges, 200 for prosecutors, and 125 for the fourth turn, which will allow jurists with more than 10 years of experience to achieve the rank of magistrate.

A first wave in March or April; a second in July and a third around November. It has been a long time since the Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió (CEO) established this periodicity for publishing its barometers, the institute's most robust surveys since it started in 2005 (the first was commissioned by Idescat in 2004). But as of June 15, none have been published this year. What has happened at the CEO? As often happens when things don't go as expected, rumors have begun to do their thing, especially on social media. The fact is that the slowness in renewing the framework agreement to approve the companies that collect data has delayed the survey awarding process by four months. A wait that will soon end, because, as ARA has learned, the fieldwork for the first barometer of 2026 is already underway and the CEO intends to make the survey public during the first half of July.

The government committee of Aliança Catalana is made up of six people: Sílvia Orriols, Oriol Gès, Jordi Aragonès, Lluís Areny, Aurora Fornos and Franc Massaneda. From this hard core of the party, the candidate for Barcelona in the municipal elections will most likely emerge. Areny is the most likely to be the mayoral candidate in the Catalan capital, according to what ARA has learned, although Aragonès could also be. "Right now there is an 80% chance that Areny will be the candidate," say sources from the formation.

The Kitchen case has put the leadership of the Ministry of the Interior under Jorge Fernández Díaz on the accused's bench, accused of spying on Luis Bárcenas and trying to steal information that could compromise the PP. Throughout the investigation, Judge Manuel García-Castellón drew a fine but robust line to confine the suspected facts to the ministry and leave the party aside. However, during the investigation, there were other relevant figures who were investigated or whom the Prosecutor's Office requested to indict. Mariano Rajoy is not on the list: in September 2021, the Prosecutor's Office pointed to a "possible responsibility" of the former Spanish Prime Minister, but no one ever formally requested that he be investigated. As a witness, and despite the existence of an audio from María Dolores de Cospedal that directly implicates him in the operation, he denied having destroyed evidence of the PP's 'caja B'. Who are the ten saved?

Hernán Cortés is one of the great figures in the conquest of America. For some –especially the conquerors– he is responsible for the liberation of indigenous peoples, and for others –especially the indigenous– one of the architects of the genocide in the New Continent. And lately, he has become the figure that justifies a dialectical war between Mexico and the PP. Until now, it was the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who had raised Cortés's flag against the criticisms of the Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum. Now another regional president of the Popular Party is also joining her: María Guardiola has decided to bring Hernán Cortés back to his hometown, Medellín (Badajoz), with the help of one of Ayuso's usual partners, the musician Nacho Cano.A few days ago, the president of Extremadura announced that she is launching the new International Institute of Mestizaje, named Extremestiza, a brand that the regional government has promoted to highlight the cultural, human, and economic ties with the Ibero-American community. According to Guardiola, her government's intention is to make Extremadura "an international reference in the study and dissemination of mestizaje and a bridge between America and Europe." Next to her, Cano did not mince words when praising the initiative and defending the figure of the conqueror to the hilt, openly criticizing their "demonization": "Mexico exists because there is Cortés," said the former Mecano member, who launched another barb at the Mexican president. "Ms. Sheinbaum, I respect you and have never spoken ill of you. Please, apologize to Ms. Ayuso, because we in Spain have never treated a Mexican president so badly," she said, referring to the tensions arising from the recent institutional visit of the Madrid president to Mexico.recent institutional visit of the Madrid president to Mexico.Guardiola also took advantage of this to make a strong defense of Hernán Cortés, assuring that many "falsehoods" have been poured over his historical figure. "Neither America nor Mexico would be what they are today without his mark and his legacy," he said, and he branded the criticisms surrounding the figure of the conqueror as "sensationalism and excuses.

"Do you intend to answer any questions?". This is the question that the PP spokesperson, Ester Muñoz, registered this week in the control session of Congress to address the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo. A question, without explicit content, which highlights the desperation in the popular ranks with the style of Pedro Sánchez's number two. Unlike the now former vice-president María Jesús Montero, now in Andalusia, who was much more visceral and confronted Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party face-to-face, the new Spanish vice-president employs a strategy of moderation and pause that disconcerts her counterpart in the PP. If Ester Muñoz talks to him about corruption cases, Carlos Cuerpo responds with positive macroeconomic data. If Muñoz reproaches him for PSOE leaders attributing corruption investigations to a political operation, Carlos Cuerpo simply says he respects justice.

The Spanish government eagerly awaited the Pope's visit. Not only for the symbolism of the head of the Catholic Church being in the State for a week, but because it implied a breath of fresh air amidst the judicial storm.It is enough to list the sequence of recent events to get an idea: on May 19, before the press conference of the Council of Ministers, the indictment of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, a key man of Pedro Sánchez, by the National Court was made public; on Saturday the 23rd, the UDEF report on which the investigation is based was leaked; and on the 25th, the record of the search of the former Spanish president's office became known, and everything revolved around the jewels found in his safe. Then the UCO appeared at Ferraz headquarters in Madrid for the Leire case, and until this week, the annotations from the notebooks of the former PSOE militant have been coming to light, who allegedly led an operation to destabilize the judicial cases affecting Pedro Sánchez's circle.Therefore, Pope Leo XIV's appearance in Congress and his defense of immigrant reception against the national priority policies of the PP and Vox was a balm for the PSOE. And once again, regarding the positions of the right and the far-right, very critical of the regularization initiated by the Spanish government. This week, in the corridors of Congress, from the socialist ranks they insisted on the harmony with the pontiff, tiptoeing, of course, around the fact that the Pope lectured against the right to abortion and euthanasia. And it is that if one attends exclusively to the content, the pontiff gave a cold and a hot one for all groups.This was not a sufficient reason, however, for anyone (beyond Podem and the BNG who were absent) to withdraw recognition from him. The groups applauded the Pope for more than seven minutes in Congress, which means two things: that no party, despite the disagreements, wanted to appear against the pontiff, and that the political operation to seduce Leo XIV has worked perfectly. Spain is a non-confessional state, but it has thrown itself into the visit; half the population considers itself Catholic, but the entire hemicycle of Congress has embraced it. And this is only explained because the parties perceive that public opinion has a favorable position towards the current pope – in the time of Donald Trump, the traditional social doctrine of the church has become progressivism – and this is a merit of the Vatican. The total winner is the Church.The return to reality

Although this Wednesday's session in Congress was already a return to the war between the PSOE and the PP, the week that begins will bring the Moncloa a new bath of reality. It is the week horribilis that has already begun with the valuation of Zapatero's jewels (1.3 million). On Monday, Sánchez's wife, Begoña Gómez, is summoned for a preliminary hearing in the trial; on Tuesday, the director of the Civil Guard, who met with Leire Díez, must appear in the Senate; on Wednesday and Thursday, Zapatero will testify as a suspect before the judge; and on Friday, the Attorney General in the upper house for Leire Díez's meetings. With the possibility that, at any moment, the sentence for the mask case of former minister José Luis Ábalos may be made public and there may be a first conviction around Sánchez. This week, from the PP ranks, they recited this calendar, taking for granted that Pedro Sánchez will hold out until 2027, but with the tranquility, they say, that the more time passes, the more burned he will arrive at the polls.

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Carmen Calvo (Cabra, Còrdova, 1957) has done almost everything in politics: deputy, regional minister, minister and vice-president, in addition to having a long career of feminist struggle in the PSOE. Since 2024 she has presided over the Council of State, a historic institution that in 2026 will celebrate 500 years since its inception.

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In less than a month, the session period in the Congress of Deputies ends. The last week of ordinary activity in the lower house will be that of June 24, when Pedro Sánchez's appearance is scheduled due to the latest judicial scandals in his circle. The Spanish Prime Minister will have to give explanations regarding the indictment of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the revelations from the investigation into the Leire Díez case. This judicial minefield of the PSOE has relegated legislative matters to the background. With a weaker parliamentary majority than ever, Sánchez faces the final stretch of the legislature with serious doubts about whether he will manage to approve the laws that are pending in Congress, as well as the outstanding agreements with his investiture allies.

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It was evident that this could not last. The Pope's trip to Spain has been a great success, due to the clarity of the messages —both spiritual and political—, the good organization, and the attention with which it has been followed everywhere. But this climate of intense call for harmony and work for the common good, from unity, will be linked internally with the memory of a period when the country lived trapped in a reality of continuous upheaval. Leo XIV, it is undeniable, has set the bar very high, as high as the cross that crowns the central tower of the Sagrada Familia. The key word of this trip has been dignity, the conception of the person as the holder of inalienable and non-renounceable rights, deserving of the utmost respect. I would like to believe that, for this reason, the applause in Congress lasted almost seven minutes, so that in the hemicycle there is a minimum common denominator regarding the relationship that the chamber should have with citizens.

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The Zapatero family's jewelry is today the main focus of tension in Spanish politics. The former president of the government has just been charged in a separate piece of the one that Judge of the National Court José Luis Calama was already investigating. The immediate consequence, beyond being summoned to testify again, is that as soon as legal action has been initiated regarding his jewelry, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero can no longer regularize them. Article 305.4 of the Penal Code establishes that he could have done so before the investigating judge formally communicated the opening of proceedings.

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