The leader of the opposition Popular Party (PP) of Spain, Alberto Núñez Feijóoassured on Wednesday, June 26, that That European country is “facing a situation of democratic risk” and in a “very close context” to that of regimes undemocratic like CubaVenezuela or Nicaragua.
During the closing of the XVII Atlantic Forum “America and Europe: Democracy and Freedom”, held in Madrid by the foundation chaired by Mario Vargas Llosa, the politician pointed out that Governments with “authoritarian impulses” have gradually weakened democratic institutions with “variants on the same recipe”: control of the media, of the Judiciary, of the productive sectors, occupation of institutions, weakening of parliamentary control, clientelistic practices and greater or lesser repression, EFE reported.
Núñez Feijóo warned that Spain is in “a context very close to this” and has “similar risks” to those of these American countries with authoritarian and repressive regimes.
“The complicated situation of our country also invites us to exercise humility and empathy towards our brothers on the other side of the Atlantic. No country is safe from suffering democratic setbacks, no democracy is immune to the actions of irresponsible adventurers who want to undermine it, and in some cases, destroy it,” he said at the event, held at Casa de América, in Madrid.
The politician illustrated his position by mentioning the attempt by Pedro Sánchez’s Government to control the Judicial Branch; the “occupation” of the Constitutional Court with officials related to the Government; the attempted censorship of critical media; because the leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) lost the elections and was inaugurated as president thanks to an “illegal law” of amnesty, and legislates with royal decrees, or has an attorney general reprimanded by the Supreme Court.
Núñez Feijóo also alluded to “clientele networks”, emphasizing that he has been “knowing for months increasingly gruesome details of corruption plots, corrupt practices and absolutely reprehensible behavior that affect the Government, the PSOE and the president’s entourage”, in reference to the “Koldo case” and the judicial investigation of Pedro Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, and his brother, David Azagra.
“This set of phenomena that I describe to you also places us in Spain in a situation of democratic risk. If we raise awareness about the situation of some Latin American nations, we must also raise our voices with the same resoundingness regarding things that are happening or beginning to happen in Spain,” he stressed, quoted by Ok Diary.
“We must move away from paternalism and the temptation to believe ourselves above the dangers that threaten democracies and, on the contrary, we must take note of what is happening in other latitudes and unite in a common struggle in defense of democratic values and the institutionality of the rule of law,” he added.
From the perspective of Núñez Feijóo, the European Union is an extra “safety net” for Spain, as in his opinion demonstrated by the agreement reached by PP and PSOE in Brussels the day before, and by which they unblocked the approval of the renewal of the Council General of the Spanish Judiciary (CGPJ).
This agreement, the politician indicated, would not have been possible without the mediation of the European Commission and the “vigilance that the European institutions exercise and will exercise.”
Núñez Feijóo asked not to hesitate when denouncing and criticizing dictatorships, populist and authoritarian driftsbecause without freedom “everything is corrupted”, there is no dignity or prosperity, and He alluded to Cuba, Venezuela or Nicaragua, also advocating that “authoritarianism” in Bolivia also end.
The leader of the PP warned that Cuba “has not had a democratic regime for more than 60 years” and pointed out that the presidential elections that Venezuela will hold on July 28 “will be neither fair nor free” due to the disqualification of legitimate candidates or the arbitrary detention of opponents, and supported the opposition.
“These Spanish-speaking regimes not only impoverish their citizens, but also provoke obscene corruption” and “rely on countries like Russia and Iran” whose aim “is to destabilise democracies.”
Besides, accused the Spanish Government of “collusion” with the regime of Nicolás Maduro and of engaging in partisan politics and not state politics in Latin America“as if he were just another member of the Sao Paulo Forum or the Puebla Group.”
He also called for the Government of Javier Milei in Argentina to try to reverse the “populist abuses” of decades “to find the path to economic growth and equity for Argentines.”
