The state of British democracy is more serious than it appears at first glance. And not just because of the growth of the far right and of an English nationalism with a marked racist and xenophobic toneFrom a symbolic point of view, the situation is also alarming. There is no democracy without representation. And there is no representation without a stage. And the Palace of Westminster, the seat of Parliament – the House of Commons and Lords – the best theater in London by far, where a million people pass through each year, is falling apart. Literally. And it's infested with mice. So much so that one newspaper, with the usual wit of British tabloids, is talking about it as The Mouse of Commons, that is to say, the House of Mice wave Commons Mousetrap.

The climate crisis is causing high temperatures to arrive earlier than the summer months, and therefore, so too are infestations of mosquitoes, cockroaches, bedbugs, and ticks in our country. This year, in addition, the spring has been particularly rainy, favoring the spread of these animals throughout the country, and the outbreak of pests has become more advanced, especially in warmer areas. Some of these insects, such as mosquitoes and ticks, are vectors of transmission of diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and West Nile fever, which are becoming more common in Spain each year. These diseases were previously only seen in imported cases from other countries, but now native outbreaks are frequently detected—that is, transmission not associated with travel—and experts predict that they will eventually become endemic in Spain.