With Spain in mind, the Portuguese Institute of International Relations of the Faculty of Law of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa opened last Tuesday its cycle of ‘Constitutional Debates’, which will continue next year with sessions dedicated to Chile and France. In this session, which was coincidentally held on the eve of the date on which the neighboring country celebrated the 45th anniversary of the 1978 Constitution, Sebastián Martín Martín, Alicia González Moro, David Castro and Abraham Barrero Ortega, all professors at the Faculty of Law degree from the University of Seville. Everyone spoke about the investigations they are currently conducting in the field of constitutional law, followed by a round table on the topic of amnesty, coordinated by journalist Ricardo Alexandre.
While she deals with the issue of party life (which is crucial in the current political life of the neighboring country), we spoke with the young researcher Alicia González Moro, who is involved, among other things, in the academic research ‘The Challenge in Higher Education: learning with ECO” and “Human rights and sustainable development goals in arts and culture”.
How do you see the association of the PSOE with Junts who, in addition to all the controversy that has arisen around the issue of the amnesty, associates the Socialist Party with a party with liberal roots, closer to right-wing concepts?
It is a marriage of convenience that should be seen as a reactionary phenomenon to the risk of the extreme right reaching the government, with its ultranationalist discourse and openly hostile to autonomy. I admit that I am very skeptical about the longevity of this agreement, even if the new government is trying to convey to the public the idea that it is a legislative agreement, for four years, and not just an investment agreement. We shall see. This week there was already a meeting between members of the PSOE and Junts and other meetings are regularly announced to evaluate events and the functioning of the government.
How is this alliance viewed within the PSOE? Is there internal opposition?
Pedro Sánchez has proven to be a solid leader, having survived several internal crises. At this point there is no expression of internal dissent, except perhaps some expressions from autonomous leaders representing slightly more conservative views. There was some criticism from historical leaders, such as Felipe González, but as far as we know the foundation of the party lies with Sánchez. We’ll see what happens in the near future.
Does the existence of nationalist parties in the Basque Country and Catalonia make a difference between Spanish political reality and that of other European countries, such as Portugal?
Also in Galicia, albeit with less impact. But the existence of these parties, which makes matters more complex, is also a consequence of the wealth and diversity of the Spanish people. It is no coincidence that regions with greater identity even have their own languages, as is the case in the Basque Country or Catalonia. So we are talking about very deep historical realities that must be recognized by the state. What happens is that these different realities sometimes have views of reality or interests that are opposed to those of that central state or even to each other. Sometimes they are resolved through the ideological logic of the left-right axis, sometimes not.
How do you see the turbulence already visible in Sumar, which is also part of the government?
The political space to the left of the PSOE has undergone major changes in recent decades.
The Communist Party, historic in the time of Santiago Carrillo, virtually disappeared.
For a long time it was the hegemonist party to the left of the PSOE, but first lost a lot of strength to Esquerda Unida. This in turn was lost with the rise of Podemos and eventually these movements also ended up in Sumar. The problem I see is that they all rally around charismatic leaders. It happened with Pablo Iglesias at Podemos and now with Yolanda Díaz, at Sumar.
What is a weakness?
It turns out to be so. If the leader falls, due to wear or some other problem, there is no structure to ensure the transition. On the other hand, the left is very negligent when it comes to territorial penetration. Sumar is very urban, focuses a lot on the provincial capitals and forgets the still existing rural Spain.
Where an older population lives, such as in Extremadura or even in certain parts of Galicia…
Also in some parts of Castilla Leon, where I am originally from, or in Castilla La Mancha. These are more isolated population groups, and therefore with specific needs that are not met by the left.
And is this where the extreme right is penetrating?
Yes, we must recognize that Vox works very well on territorial penetration.
He said at his conference that last July’s elections call for a certain return to the bipartisanship that Spain, like other European countries, has known since the democratic transition. Do you think it will be more than a trend soon?
The elections in July this year seem to indicate this. Especially because the electoral system favors voting in two majority forces. Public opinion is in favor of government stability, which we cannot do without. Perhaps we will not return to a bipartisanship as evident as before the 2015 elections, when new parties emerged that posed many problems for government formation. There are people who talk about the possibility of strengthening left-right biblokism.
What lessons do you learn from the outcome of the July elections?
On the one hand, polarization weakens governance because it makes consensus building difficult. But on the other hand, we must confirm that this is the result of an increase in the participation of the population in electoral events, which reduces abstention. After the 2008 economic crisis we had many symptoms of anti-party sentiment, which have now disappeared, although distrust among ordinary citizens towards the political system remains high (in the order of 90% compared to 75% in the rest of the world). of the world). Europe, according to a recent study). Of course, this is not ideal, as this mood is often motivated by fear, rebellion or despair. In Spain, the figure of Pedro Sánchez is hated by some more conservative sections of the population. There were many voices that arose ‘solely’ from the rejection of the head of government.
Source: DN
