Last week, the media virtually brought me close to two women who, for different reasons, caught my attention. One was the PP deputy for Ourense, Ana Vázquez, 51 years old; the other, Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old pensioner from Madrid who was evicted by court order. I will not go into the background that motivated their respective (omni)presences in the media over a few hours, because otherwise the article would end up being the typical argumentative hodgepodge of an accelerated talk show. I will focus on how this brief (omni)presence will condition the rest of their lives, whatever they do. Regarding deputy Vázquez, I was perplexed by her vulgarity, beyond the little scene with the pepper spray: the gestures, the diction, that impertinent look... Regarding the pensioner Abascal, on the other hand, I was surprised by a serenity that, given the situation, was even more impressive. I don't know much more about these two women, especially the older one. I have read that Vázquez took the civil service exam for the National Police force, but jumped into politics at the age of 25, and that Abascal worked as a secretary at an American pharmaceutical company for more than three decades. I have a certainty, however: the Andy Warholian 15 minutes of fame of both ladies will be attempted to be stretched out for reasons that have little to do with the essential purpose of journalism, which—I remind you in case anyone has forgotten—is none other than to inform with rigor and truthfulness. It is probable that Ana Vázquez committed a more or less serious infraction in a parliamentary setting, and it is reasonable to think that Maricarmen Abascal personifies a situation that should not have been reached. The way the media will swallow both cases, however, is another matter. Their media history, so brief and noisy, will surely not vanish with the same speed with which it erupted. On the contrary: even if many forget about it, it will remain adhered to their public biography like a kind of second skin, a layer of interpretations that they have not chosen and that, nevertheless, they will have to swallow. It is the price of having been transformed by chance into involuntary symbols. From now on, any gesture by Vázquez will be filtered through the caricature of her unfortunate stunt; any appearance by Abascal, through the image of vulnerability that has been attributed to her. And it is here that journalism, when it abdicates its essential function, ceases to be an instrument of understanding to become a dangerous mechanism of solidification or fixation: it freezes people in a single frame and condemns them to represent it indefinitely. An example that people of my generation might remember: in 1975, the President of the United States Gerald Ford (1913-2006) went from being a politician to being only "the man who fell down the airplane stairs".

Let me start the story at the end, which is where great stories begin. Later, if you have the patience, readers, we will go to the flash-back. It so happens that at the Congress of Deputies, three restrooms and a dining room had to be sealed off “after someone emptied a spray with a toxic substance in them”. Three floors of the building were evacuated, including the kitchen area. Cooks, waitresses, and a member of the Mauritanian delegation, who happened to be passing by, were intoxicated and had to receive medical assistance.

Chaos in Congress following a controversial intervention by PP deputy Ana Belén Vázquez, who displayed pepper spray and ended up being expelled from the hemicycle. But the absurdity did not end there. Later, the Spanish lower house had to seal off three restrooms, a kitchen, and a dining room due to the presence of a toxic substance. A PP staffer ended up admitting that he had handled and triggered the pepper spray while cleaning it at the request of the parliamentarian. Twelve people received medical assistance. Among them, there is a member of the Mauritanian delegation who was visiting the chamber and had to be treated for vomiting caused by the strong smell of gas. Furthermore, a woman from the kitchen is on sick leave due to intoxication –by mandate of her mutual insurance company– and another worker has filed a complaint. Let's take this step by step.