It is now known that the end of the Spanish legislature will be a judicial ordeal for the PSOE. As we explain today, there are up to seven open judicial fronts against members of the party or the government, and that's if there are no secret cases underway that could appear at any moment. Many things can be said, but the only certainty is that the legislature began with right-wing protests in the streets and demonstrations by judges against the amnesty law, and it ends with a judicial siege on a party as has not been remembered at least since the end of the Francoist era.

Government changes in Spain go through processes of demolition. They seem like regime changes, and sometimes they even are. I'm not talking about the virulence of political confrontation. Internal struggles within and outside parties do not make Spain unique. No, what makes Spain unique is an unfinished territorial architecture that always threatens to be demolished or reconfigured. It is this unresolved issue and the bloody expression of ideological difference that turns politics into a battlefield.

“You cannot force a country to choose between democracy and stability, because there is no greater instability than that which stems from corruption”. The phrase is by Pedro Sánchez and was addressed to Mariano Rajoy the day before the motion of no confidence that made the socialist leader president of the Spanish government, on June 1, 2018. Next Monday it will be eight years.

Faced with the crisis that looms heavily over the PSOE due to the Zapatero case, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has reiterated his support for the socialist ex-president, who is being investigated for alleged crimes of criminal organization, influence peddling, and document forgery. On the day that the Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard entered the party headquarters on Ferraz Street in Madrid, Sánchez assured from Rome that he has read the judge's order and has been informed of the summary through the media and that he "reaffirms" his opinion: "Full cooperation with justice, full respect for the presumption of innocence, and all my support for President Zapatero. There is no reason to change this position.

Politics should not be a profession. In an optimal democratic system, our representatives should come from society itself and, therefore, already have their own job, a profession. The cases of those who come from work and return to work once their task is finished are so unusual that their case becomes news, as happened with Julio Anguita. Former presidents, moreover, have a lifelong pension, a secretary, an office, and a driver with an escort, whether they were in office for half their lives or only lasted a few months. A luxury retirement, at the opposite extreme of widows who receive the minimum wage. The establishment of these privileges is already a scandal and establishes a completely unfair comparative grievance with the rest of the workers. (Well, I am self-employed, so I know what awaits me the day I can no longer string two sentences together and get paid for it: becoming an occupier and anti-system grandma, at the very least.)

The Civil Guard yesterday arrested the entire governing board of the Torredembarra City Council, led by mayor Daniel Masagué, for alleged crimes of embezzlement of public funds, money laundering, prevarication, and influence peddling. The Civil Guard also arrested the deputy mayors, Francisca Felguera, Santiago Ardèvol, Elia Rodríguez, and Pere Font, from CiU, José Oviedo, from the PP, and Ignasi Duran, from the Group of Independents of Torredembarra (GIT).

President Salvador Illa defended his chief of staff, Eduard Rivas, this Tuesday morning, after his involvement in alleged irregularities when he was mayor of Esparreguera (Baix Llobregat) became known. Rivas, who led the town hall of this municipality for the PSC between 2015 and 2024, is being investigated as part of a process that probes public contracts of the council, according to has been reported by El Periódico, which explains that the Mossos confiscated the socialist official's mobile phone three months ago. Illa has reaffirmed his "full confidence" in his collaborator.

1. While here we are eating the 'mona' cake, in Madrid they are working. The third term of the school year begins with one of those news items that will have repercussions. This Monday, the trial for Operation Kitchen begins at the National Court. The case will once again place the Popular Party at the epicenter of the mire. And this is not just a case of corruption. It is much more than that. It is being investigated whether the party in power used the State to cover up its own corruption. The indications seem clear, but justice, in Spain, can always come out with a broken candle.

Forestalia is a major Aragonese renewable energy company that is quite well known in Camp de Tarragona: it intended to promote a 287-kilometer high-voltage line, 181 of which are in Catalan territory, to bring electricity from Aragon to Catalonia. A project, controversial at the time, which is now history. However, the headaches for the company are not over, and now the dust is being generated by an alleged environmental corruption case that, for the moment, has resulted in six arrests. What is being investigated?

Let's take it step by step. The case has already been dubbed the Forestalia case. This Friday, a hearing for precautionary measures is scheduled by the magistrate responsible for the case. Broadly speaking, an alleged environmental corruption scheme affecting the province of Teruel, in Aragon, is being investigated. The case came to light ten days ago, when the Central Operational Unit for the Environment (UCO) of the Guardia Civil arrested six people, including a former senior official from the Ministry for Ecological Transition, Eugenio Domínguez, and the owner of the company, Fernando Samper. Searches were also carried out in Madrid and Zaragoza. Juan José Cortés Hidalgo, head of Court of First Instance and Instruction No. 1 of Teruel, is directing the investigation under judicial secrecy.

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The president of the Alicante Chamber of Commerce, Carlos Baño, was arrested Friday morning by the National Police, according to information obtained by ARA from sources close to the investigation. As detailed by the EFE news agency, the arrest was made for an alleged corruption offense related to the management of consumer vouchers in some twenty municipalities in the province during 2022 and 2023. The consumer voucher campaign was launched by the Alicante Provincial Council during the tenure of Carlos Mazón, who would later become president of the Valencian Government, to boost household spending and stimulate local businesses after the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The investigation seeks to determine whether there was possible fraud in the management of these public funds. Despite his position at the Alicante Chamber of Commerce, Baño was arrested in his capacity as president of the Alicante Federation of Commerce (Facpyme). In parallel with the arrest, and in coordination with the Alicante Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, agents from the money laundering group of the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit have carried out several raids on the headquarters of the entities that managed the consumer vouchers, including the Facpyme (Alicante Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises). The campaign represented an expenditure of 58 million euros by the Alicante Provincial Council between 2022 and 2024. The initiative subsidized 50% of consumer purchases at participating establishments, while the customer paid the remaining amount. The investigation aims to determine whether the Alicante Federation of Commerce financially benefited from implementing the campaigns through a shell company. At this time, neither the National Police nor the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office have provided further details about the operation, as it has been declared secret.

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The judge in the Montoro case takes another step in the investigation. The head of court number 2 in Tarragona, who is investigating the alleged scheme of tax favors to companies from the Ministry of Finance In exchange for financial benefits, he has requested a whole series of documents from the former PP minister and the companies under investigation. In a ruling that also extends the investigation for another six months, Judge Rubén Rus grants the request of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and requires the judicial police to provide a whole series of information, including the deeds of constitution and dissolution of the marital property regimes of several of those under investigation, such as Montoro himself. He also requests the complete registry entries, reports, and annual accounts between 2008 and 2025 of Equipo Económico, the firm linked to the former minister and which investigators place at the epicenter of the alleged corruption network, and of other companies, including those listed.

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Five arrests in 24 hours related to the PSOE for alleged corruption cases and cases of alleged sexual harassment: after the Salazar case, and that of the president of the Lugo Provincial Council, Javier Izquierdo, senator and member of the party's executive committee, resigned yesterday.And yesterday, the PSOE failed to pass the deficit target, a necessary step before the budget can be processed.

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Tomorrow the ARA will turn 15, and today might be a good day to explain some of that analysis. It's very simple: when you sit down first thing in the morning to analyze the news, you have to use several lenses: the microscope, to see details that might go unnoticed but are and will be fundamental; the wide-angle lens, to see everything in its entirety; and the telescope, to see further and gain perspective. And then, after everything has been recounted and debated, you have to choose and prioritize the facts. Well, today, after examining the most important news stories from every angle, I've come to the conclusion that I can only tell you that this is a stinking mess.

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Despite the global economic context marked by uncertainty and modest growth in most wealthy countries, Spain will maintain its momentum in 2025 and It will be one of the fastest growing economiesSince emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic, Spain has registered robust growth in almost all activities and sectors, driven by private household consumption—which remains the engine of the Spanish economy—the strong performance of the labor market, the recovery of the tourism sector, the arrival of European funds, and increased public spending. This is recognized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in a new report. Economic study of Spain Published this Wednesday, the report revises GDP growth upwards for 2025 to 2.9%, and also for 2026 (2.2%). However, it's not all good news. Like any economy, Spain's also has pending tasks, the OECD points out, including fiscal consolidation. The organization focuses on deficit and debt levels and the need to reduce them. "Consolidation remains essential to steer gross public debt downwards in the medium term; comply with EU fiscal rules; adapt to increased defense spending, the aging population, and the green transition; and create room for spending that will boost the economy," the report summarizes. Therefore, the organization believes that Spain should implement a series of fiscal adjustments in terms of revenue and benefits (spending) to achieve this consolidation, that is, to strengthen sustainability and, above all, reduce public debt. Specifically, it estimates the need for adjustments at 0.4 percent of GDP: approximately 6.8 billion euros. On the revenue side (3.4 billion euros), it proposes broadening the VAT base or increasing revenue through environmental taxes. Regarding expenditure (an additional 3.4 billion euros), it focuses on pensions and the need for reform to contain spending in anticipation of the retirement of the next generation. baby boom –it again proposes measures such as linking benefits to life expectancy or extending the retirement calculation period to 35 years–. In any case, these are not new messages (they were already mentioned in the 2021 and 2023 economic study of Spain).

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One day after Santos Cerdán's release from prison, the PSOE is widening the gap between itself and its number three in order to shield itself from the alleged corruption scheme. This was made clear on Thursday by Minister Félix Bolaños, who stated that the latest report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) The Civil Guard provides "solid evidence" against the former Socialist Party organizing secretary. "There are many things that are clear," added Minister Ángel Víctor Torres. "If [Cerdán]He claims there is evidence that they are lies."He will have to prove it," she added on Catalunya Ràdio. The former Socialist Party number three will have an opportunity to explain himself in December before the Senate's investigative committee. The People's Party (PP) has taken advantage of his release from prison to announce that it will summon him. "Now that he's free and has time," the PP spokesperson in the Senate quipped. Speaking to the media at an event in Madrid this morning, she asserted that those at the party headquarters in Ferraz are "very disappointed and shocked" by the new developments in the case when asked about the alleged 2% commissions that, according to the UCO (Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard), Cerdán received in exchange for awarding public works contracts to Acciona. "We had the information we have. If we had, we would have behaved differently," she emphasized. Juanfran Serrano, Cerdán's former deputy in the PSOE's organizational secretariat, also expressed his shock at the revelations about Cerdán. The PP has also summoned him to the Senate. In his case, a date has already been set for Thursday, December 4th. He admitted that the latest information on the case is "damaging" to the party, but they have emphasized the speed and "forcefulness" of their actions in relation to the scheme. "It didn't affect the party, but rather it was a scheme involving specific individuals," Bolaños said. And he added: "We are absolutely certain that there is no irregular financing."

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In recent years, and we have failed to do so, citizens have watched in bewilderment as corruption cases, despite their extreme gravity, accumulate and are diluted in a climate of widespread desensitization. On the one hand, the Santos Cerdán case (with charges of illegal commissions, alleged shady dealings in public works projects, and a scheme involving politicians and companies) has once again shaken what little trust we had left in institutions and has brought to light the systemic corruption we are experiencing.

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Corruption continues to threaten Pedro Sánchez's government. The Civil Guard has produced a report in which Santos Cerdán, former organizational secretary of the PSOE, appears as the link between the Spanish government (specifically Minister Ábalos, who was Minister of Transport) and the construction company Acciona.

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The Spanish government's oversight sessions in the Senate serve as an opportunity for the People's Party (PP) to continue its particular siege, highlighting the alleged corruption of the Spanish executive from a chamber where the Popular Party (PP) holds an absolute majority. But what is unusual is for Pedro Sánchez's administration to warn that years of corruption from the left-wing coalition lie ahead. "There will be a government of corruption for a while. Of corruption for a while. Continue like this and you will never govern," asserted Yolanda Díaz, Spain's second vice president and Minister of Labor, in the upper house of parliament this Tuesday. The minister's lapse left the chamber speechless and provoked massive applause from the entire PP bench, in an ironic outburst amid stupefied laughter and the sudden assimilation of what the Galician leader had just said.

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The constant accusations between the main Spanish parties related to corruption occupy the majority of the public debate on this scourge. In recent months, the PP and PSOE have not come closer to discussing how to prevent the repetition of cases that have affected them, such as those of Montoro or Cerdán, but rather have further distanced themselves from the possibility of working together to curb these practices. "We should all sit down and work and stop pointing fingers at each other," argues the executive director of Transparency International in Spain, David Martínez, in an interview with ARA. The organization has prepared a report with 100 recommendations to combat corruption, in which it analyzes the state plan that Pedro Sánchez presented on July 9 after the scandal broke out involving the man who, until then, was his number three in the party. "The first thing we need is [political] unity," concludes Martínez, who points out that "using corruption as a weapon demonstrates an insufficient level of democratic maturity."

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The Osborne bull, the statuette of a Sevillian woman, the Naranjito, and the envelopes stuffed with banknotes for corruption. Spanish iconography typical I should already incorporate this image, because both are related by the practice popularly known as doing the Egyptian. The World and theAbc Today's front pages include large photographs of the envelopes that the UCO (Spanish National University) attributes to payments from the PSOE to Ábalos and Koldo. It's the typical case where a picture is worth a thousand words. For months, right-wing (and far-right) newspapers have been screaming headlines with details of the case only comprehensible to scholars, academics, and interpreters of the matter: formulations that included concupiscent relationships between such-and-such an advisor, his cousin, or Pasqual's lover. This is different. The photograph of the envelope of banknotes is meant to be the gavel that will sentence the PSOE in the public eye. The amount of money seen is nothing out of this world—just over 3,000 euros—and some coins can even be seen, but the fold is quite thick, thanks to the EU's 2009 decision to stop producing 500-euro banknotes (precisely because they ended up being used for illicit activities). The measure—oh, surprise!—hasn't put an end to corruption, but at least now the tainted politicians must gather and move a lot more paper.

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