The initial plan was to approve the official secrets act before the end of 2025, but not only has the objective not been met, but the law remains stalled in Congress. A week after the Spanish government declassified the 23-F documents, it has not been able to unblock the norm that will legally cover the lifting of secrecy of classified matters. Moncloa sent the bill to Congress last July, but sources from the socialist group admit to ARA that for now there is no "news" about this reform and that their bill "does not have the necessary support" to move forward.

The coup attempt of February 23, 1981, formally failed, but at the same time represented a democratic setback, especially regarding the development of autonomous communities. The Organic Law on the Promotion of the Autonomy Process (LOAPA) was its offspring. February 23 marked a turning point. In reality, this failed attempt ended up defining the limits of the 1978 regime and legitimizing a monarchy born from the dictatorship, which, in the established narrative, at that crossroads of the coup, supposedly opted for freedom and against the military. Was this really the case? To what extent was King Juan Carlos I aware of the plans of Civil Guard Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero and General Alfonso Armada? What pacts or conversations took place at that time between the military, political forces, and the powers that be? Who paid for the failed attempt? Many questions remain unanswered, questions that the declassification of documents generated around the coup, and until now inaccessible, could resolve. It has taken 45 years. A long time. Too long. Better late than never, of course: the Spanish government's announcement is significant. However, we will soon know whether it truly resolves unknowns or if the Official Secrets Act, still in force—it is none other than a Francoist law from 1968—continues to be a safety net against the miseries of the deep state.

After the Spanish government made this summer The last step for the Official Secrets Act to see the light of day –approved by the Council of Ministers in July– now has to go through the entire parliamentary process. And it doesn't look like it will be smooth sailing. The investiture partners do not fully support the law that must replace the Francoist law which keeps key documents from the State's history classified. In fact, most are critical of the central part of the law: the declassification period for documents. Regarding the preliminary draft from three years ago, the Spanish government has reduced this period by five years for the most restricted subjects, but this is not enough for the majority of members, who demand that these periods be shorter. The groups have until this Wednesday, September 17, to present their amendments.

It is one of the world's leading arms manufacturers and exporters. Spain occupies the seventh place in the world ranking: for a decade now it has been in the top ten of this list, alongside powers such as the United States, Russia, Germany, China and the United Kingdom, and therefore well above its economic potential. It is ahead of Israel, South Korea and Italy. Its main buyers are NATO countries, especially Germany and the United Kingdom, followed at a distance by France and Australia. In fifth place it has two controversial clients: Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Because of the war in Yemen, plagued by atrocities, Germany and Italy have stopped selling to the Saudis. Spain, on the other hand, has not. Since 2015, at least 233,000 people have died in the Yemen war (there are allegations of war crimes against all sides). The Turkish genocide against the Kurds has not put a brake on Spanish arms sales. After Venezuela, the Arab Emirates are the eighth client of the State: the violations of human rights have led Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands to deny them the sale of arms. Again, Spain has kept it.