A large part of the world looks with concern towards the Strait of Hormuz, the passage that connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean and through which a fifth of the hydrocarbons that reached the international market passed before the United States and Israel decided to attack Iran. Hydrocarbons are the basis of fossil fuels (oil and natural gas) and, currently, are essential for generating energy and manufacturing plastics. Many European countries fear that if the war continues and the blockade of the strait persists, as well as attacks on refineries and petrochemical plants in the Middle East, oil derivatives such as kerosene, which powers airplanes, may begin to run out. Faced with this situation, in Spain, eyes are not focused far away, but rather on the eight refineries of Repsol, BP, and Moeve that are still operational – among them, the one in the Tarragona petrochemical complex – which have become a breath of fresh air in the face of the threat of hydrocarbon shortages.

The Spanish government is shining with the public differences of opinion maintained by the Ministries of Health and Defense on whether quarantine is mandatory or not for people who have been in contact with infected individuals by hantavirus. And it is true that the procedures for the outbreak were activated late and poorly, and here we are, urgently searching for passengers who were in contact with the infected and counting cases of people who have isolated themselves in Singapore or are under surveillance in the United States. But what I find unbearable is the political outcry, practically hysteria, surrounding the case. The Canary Islands government does not want the ship in port (as if they were not bringing the affected people to port); Ayuso – who is now dedicated to imitating Pedro Sánchez to play on the international stage as a reference for the most rancid right-wing and goes to Mexico to defend Hernán Cortés to see if she provokes a global scandal – wonders why they have to bring affected people to Madrid (as if they didn't have a reference hospital there), and the PP goes around shouting "This is chaos!" It is a shame, because we know that hantavirus is not like covid – the WHO has said so –, and we live in a developed country, a member of the European Union, with the capacity to treat this disease. We come from a pandemic in which many people suffered a lot and became very anxious, which triggered mental illnesses, and now what would be appropriate would be to have a sense of state. When a crisis is still open, one must think twice about the messages and leave the criticism for when it is resolved.Regarding open crises, the war in Iran continues but has already reached levels of confusion that begin to resemble that Gila war, where a general would pick up the phone and ask for the enemy. At this moment, officially, the ceasefire holds, but the United States and Iran continue to exchange attacks. Trump doesn't know how to end this war, to which he was dragged by Israel, which is making gasoline more expensive for him and, therefore, angering his voters. That's why he continues to say things from the height of a bell tower, opening controversies and alternative fires, such as when he said that the Pope was endangering many Catholics because he didn't care if Iran had the atomic bomb. But the Pope put him in his place with a sentence destined to go down in the history of his pontificate: “If anyone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let them do so with the truth, because the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, and there is no doubt about it.” Very well said.Another political crisis: teaching unions have reported detecting undercover police officers at teachers' assemblies. An explanation from the Government is urgently needed. It would be unacceptable, typical of an authoritarian regime. This morning, when asked about the matter on SER, President Illa brushed it off saying the minister would provide explanations, implying the president knows nothing and has no reason to know anything. It doesn't look good, especially in the midst of the labor conflict between teachers and the department, as it seems they were spying on them. I certainly think explanations are needed.

At the end of April, the runway of results obtained by companies in the first quarter of the year begins, that is, between January and March. This also includes the so-called crown jewels; those companies that are part of the Ibex-35. Again, this 2026's presentations have been marked by the international context: "This is already the sixth or seventh [energy] crisis I have experienced," stated Iberdrola's president, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, to analysts this week, explaining how they achieved a profit of 1,865 million euros in the first three months of the year (11% more). Two companies in the sector have also fared well: Naturgy and Repsol –Endesa presents results in May–. The first has earned 530 million euros up to March and the second 929 million. In the case of the oil company, this represents 154% more.

Amidst a fragile ceasefire, with Israel violating the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, the face-to-face negotiations in Islamabad, mediated by Pakistan, between the delegations of the United States and Iran have not yielded any concrete results. It was really very difficult.

When this article appears in print, we will already know if “a whole civilization” has died “this night”. After all, if God made the world in seven days, what could prevent the best president the Earth has ever seen since the appearance of Man from erasing Iran and its thousands of years of history in a single night? Trump's ability to turn everything he touches into shit is exhausting, day and night.

"Open the fuckin' strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in hell!" ("Open the fucking strait, crazy scoundrels, or you will live hell!"). This delicate, diplomatic phrase was written by President Trump on Sunday on his network, Truth Social, surely with the intention of de-escalating the conflict and reaching a cordial and peaceful agreement. Jokes aside, how did we get here? Although the question seems simple, it is actually misleading, due to the evident nature of the answer: we have arrived here because a very clear majority of Americans voted for Trump, knowing perfectly well what they were doing. Consequently, the question is another, and it turns out to be a bit uncomfortable: why did many vote for a character who, as in the case of numerous Latin Americans, went against their interests in a clear, explicit, unambiguous way? In politics, social groups do not vote solely based on their material interests, but on a broader framework of identity, emotional, or symbolic factors. This explains why certain segments —such as the aforementioned Latin Americans, impoverished white workers from the Rust Belt, or certain religious minorities— could support options that, from an external perspective —I mean, European—, seemed little or not at all coherent with their objective needs. Here and in the United States, everywhere, identity can weigh more than the economy in certain circumstances. Many voters make a decision based on who they believe they are (not who they are in reality), or on what (subjective) threats they perceive. A common case is the totally illusory identification with the middle class. There are other factors, though. For some North Americans of Cuban, Venezuelan, or Nicaraguan origin, for example, any discourse that evokes the specter of the socialism that drove them from their country had, and has, an immediate emotional impact, regardless of the specific policies it entails. When voting becomes catharsis, programmatic coherence ultimately ceases to be determinant. To this is added a —let's say— aspirationalism: many citizens do not vote for their current situation, but for what they imagine they could achieve.

The Spanish government anticipates "resilience" in tourist activity in the face of the conflict in the Middle East. And it not only clings to the estimates for this Easter week, which are "fantastic" in the words of the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, but also to an "ability to adapt and resist" of a sector that in recent years has overcome crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. "The situation is completely different [to that of the coronavirus]. It cannot be compared," Hereu said at a press conference this Tuesday, after the cabinet meeting. The minister, who appeared precisely to explain the current pulse of tourism and the forecasts for this Easter week, acknowledged that there is concern about the impact of the conflict, but linked it to "secondary effects" that will depend on how long the war drags on. "We are analyzing with the sector [the current situation] and what might happen if the conflict lasts not weeks, but months," he said. For example, if this scenario leads to an even more severe price crisis.

We arrive at Easter, at the school holidays, the departure operations and the monas, stating that the return will be tough. Everything is rising due to the war in Iran, and since the end of the war is not in sight, the damage to our pockets from this inflation will last for a few weeks, at least. Yesterday evening, Trump pulled ten more days of ultimatum deadline out of the hat for the ayatollahs, while he systematically lies every day (and a lot, because he doesn't stop talking) just to prevent oil from continuing to rise in price and the stock markets from continuing to sink. He just keeps saying the war is won, but the Strait of Hormuz continues to be dominated by Iran, and the regime has not fallen. Meanwhile, in Spanish politics, there has been the announced change that could influence the future of the common financing system that applies to us. Yesterday, Vice President Montero resigned to go to Andalusia and his replacement will be Carlos Cuerpo, until now Minister of Finance. A doctor in economics, polyglot, technician, he does not have a PSOE membership card, a man who does not shout, an economist prepared to sit in Brussels or Washington or wherever; nothing to do with the mercurial Montero. And his place at the Ministry of Finance is taken by Arcadi España, a Valencian from President Ximo Puig's circle, who considers himself a federalist, who has often denounced how poorly funded the Valencian Community is, and who will have to move forward, seemingly with conviction, with the new system agreed with Esquerra. They say that in the PSC they are happy with España's appointment. But however federalist and aware he may be of the poor funding of the Valencian Community, can a socialist minister change anything about the distribution of money? This is the big question and the precedents are not precisely reassuring.

We arrive at Holy Week, school holidays, departure operations and the "monas" affirming that the return will be tough. Everything is rising due to the war in Iran, and since the end of the war is not in sight, the damage to our pockets from this inflation will last for a few weeks, at least. Last night, Trump pulled ten more days out of his hat for the ultimatum to the ayatollahs, while he systematically lies every day (and a lot, because he doesn't stop talking) just to prevent oil from continuing to rise in price and stock markets from continuing to fall. He just keeps saying that the war is won, but the Strait of Hormuz continues to be dominated by Iran, and the regime has not fallen. Meanwhile, in Spanish politics, there has been the announced change that could influence the future of the common financing system that applies to us. Yesterday, Vice President Montero resigned to go to Andalusia and his replacement will be Carlos Cuerpo, until now Minister of Finance. A doctor in economics, multilingual, technical, he does not have a PSOE party card, a man who does not shout, an economist prepared to sit in Brussels or Washington or wherever; nothing to do with the mercurial Montero. And his place at the Ministry of Finance is taken by Arcadi España, a Valencian from President Ximo Puig's circle, who considers himself a federalist, who has often denounced how poorly financed the Valencian Community is, and who will have to move forward, seemingly with conviction, with the new system agreed with Esquerra. They say that in the PSC they are happy with España's appointment. But however federalist and aware he may be of the poor financing of the Valencian Community, can a socialist minister change anything about the distribution of money? This is the big question and the precedents are not precisely reassuring.

More than a new world order, what we have before our eyes is a new law: that of the strongest, which interrupts that universal principle approved by the United Nations more than eighty years ago by which every State is equally sovereign of its own land and people. I am interested in the fundamental question that, in the name of the human condition, we must ask ourselves today: what kind of mind orders this new policy of cruelty, which is activated without dialogue or responsibility, and which spreads across the map like an avoidable epidemic, from Latin America to Northern Europe, from Eastern Europe to the Middle East?

On the war: the United States and Israel have neither overthrown the ayatollahs' regime, nor do they control the Strait of Hormuz, nor is Trump advancing peace talks as he wants us to believe with this daily obsession of talking, talking, and talking.Trump wants to claim victory and cannot, he wants to announce peace and bombs and missiles continue to be heard, and Tehran says they are not negotiating anything, the war is harming the lives of people and businesses all over the world, and it is sending us into an energy crisis that could strangle us all. The dictatorship of the Iranian clergy has understood that Trump is in a hurry to finish, and logically they are not; the regime is already very damaged, and now they want the whole world to blame Trump for the general impoverishment.In this regard, I recommend again theanalysis by our Head of International, Francesc Millán, on what might happen now. Because Trump said the war would last 4 weeks. It will be 4 weeks the day after tomorrow, Saturday. What should we do: insist on the diplomatic path or escalate the war, with nuclear weapons if necessary?In this scenario, today the anti-crisis decree is being voted on in Congress. It will be approved because Junts has already said they will support it because the PSOE will support what we explained yesterday about the zero VAT reduction for self-employed workers earning less than 85,000 euros per year. The vote and debate will be today, but yesterday Esquerra and Junts already debated another issue that will be voted on in a month, which is the decree extending rental contracts. And Rufián went all out against Junts: "Who do they work for? For whom? If they overthrow this decree, I wish them years of political ostracism. And I promise you that while I am here, I will strive very hard for that to be the case. Very. Because they do terrible harm to people, to this country, and to my country. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes..."

The German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, was a spark in a context already saturated with tensions, rigid alliances (with me or against me), and powers willing, or perhaps even resigned, to enter into total conflict. Today, however, although the world remains dangerous and unstable, the logic of military escalation is not the same. Therefore, even in the face of aggressions as serious as the Russian invasion of Ukraine or the US attack on Iran, nothing resembling the start of World War III has occurred. Like it or not, a key element remains nuclear deterrence. Since 1945, the major powers have known that a direct conflict could lead to a nuclear brawl with apocalyptic consequences. This awareness has created a system of mutual restraint that, paradoxically, makes it unlikely that certain wars will escalate. In the case of Ukraine, both NATO and Russia have carefully calibrated their actions to avoid a direct confrontation. They have also measured the language used to refer to the possible use of these terrible weapons, even in the case of a verbally incontinent person like Trump.

This morning something very interesting happened, a new strategic move by Pedro Sánchez in his long and well-known struggle to resist, to resist everything: his collaborators in prison, the indictment of his wife and brother, his party defeated in every election in Extremadura, Aragon, and Castile and León. This morning Sánchez went to Congress to explain the social measures to alleviate the cost of the war in Iran. And he went on the attack. Seeing that Europe is no longer leaving him alone with the "No to war" movement, he said that the 2026 war in Iran is like the 2003 Iraq War, which had disastrous consequences in Iraq, in the world, and on our streets with Islamist terrorism. That if that war was illegal, this one is too. And that the People's Party (PP) was complicit. But to say that Iran is like Iraq, to ​​once again use the trump card of the "No to war" movement of 2003, is déjà vu. And then, Sánchez personalized it with a tremendous attack against José María Aznar. He said that Aznar, in 2003, wanted to feel important, that he supported a war in exchange for ego, for the power to influence George Bush. He recalled that the Madrid bombings were the fault of that war. And he recalled that Aznar shows no remorse. He even went so far as to question his morality.

There was an initial oil crisis. We teach it in all economic history courses. The crisis began in October 1973 in the wake of the Yom Kippur War, when Saudi Arabia, leading the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), refused to sell oil to countries that had sided with Israel. OPEC quickly transformed the boycott into price increases. Given the rigidity of global oil demand, OPEC was able to repeat the price increases several times, quadrupling them in just a few months—an impact that spread worldwide and fueled the obscene enrichment of the major exporters.

The week begins in a very dangerous way. As you know, Trump has announced attacks on Iranian power plants if Iran does not unblock the Strait of Hormuz Iran has warned that its response will be to attack the desalination plants of the Persian Gulf countries. You attack my electricity, and I'll attack your water.

The resignation of the director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center is significant. He is not leaving his post due to a technical dispute or institutional burnout, but rather after stating that Iran did not pose an imminent threat. This statement not only contradicts the dominant narrative but also destabilizes the very foundation upon which the legitimacy of the military escalation has been built. And yet, it has barely altered the public debate.

The Spanish government will hold an extraordinary cabinet meeting on Friday to address the economic effects of the war in Iran and approve a package of measures. Sources at La Moncloa (the Prime Minister's official residence) explain that the response plan for the war in the Middle East will include both short-term and long-term solutions, as confirmed by the Third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen. However, these will not initially be generalized measures like those implemented for fuel during the war in Ukraine, but rather will prioritize the most affected and also the "most vulnerable" economic sectors. On Monday, the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, and the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, met with representatives from the food industry, the fertilizer sector—key to the primary sector—and animal feed to discuss the necessary measures for this economic sector, one of the hardest hit by the US-Israeli war against Iran. which blocks the Strait of Hormuz in response. The measures will not only address the increase in fuel prices but also the disruption of fertilizer trade, which has a significant impact due to the conflict.

On Sunday, rescue teams continued clearing debris from the primary care center bombed early Saturday morning in Burj Qalawiya, southern Lebanon. Among the building's wreckage, emergency services recovered the bodies of more paramedics who were on duty at the time of the attack. With this update, the Lebanese Ministry of Health raised the number of healthcare workers killed since the bombing to 32. the start of the Israeli offensive on March 2A figure that reflects the extent to which the war is beginning to affect those trying to save lives.

Two weeks have passed since the start of the war against Iran. A conflict that has upended international flight patterns, global diplomacy, and the global oil supply. The disconcerting thing is that neither the United States nor Israel has communicated what would need to happen for the war to be considered won. This uncertainty is centered on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil passes. Images of burning oil tankers summarize Iran's pressure strategy. If this passage is closed, the impact on the global economy is guaranteed, and Trump's promise to escort the ships—with a system that won't be ready until the end of March—only seems to confirm that the end is not as near as we would like. But it's not just oil: we must also consider its derivatives and other raw materials that pass through the strait. One of these is sulfur, essential for producing sulfuric acid, the most manufactured chemical in the world and indispensable for extracting copper and cobalt, which in turn are fundamental for electrical transformers, batteries, and data center infrastructure. Or nitrogen fertilizers, basic for global food production.

We're ending the week with gasoline prices climbing and the war escalating. To give you an idea, the US Treasury Department has announced it will temporarily authorize countries to buy Russian oil from tankers in transit.Iran's new supreme leader, son of the previous one, says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed While Netanyahu remains silent and bombs, Trump speaks to continue occupying the center of the stage alone and says things like the increase in fuel prices is bringing many benefits to American companies.