Values ??survey on Spanish youth in the context of the European elections (June 9): young women choose equality as the main value, while men opt for freedom. One month before the elections to elect the European Parliament, these values ??seem to define the ideology of young Spaniards: girls are located further to the left of the political spectrum, although they vote the least. Because? Due to disinterest in politics.
This is indicated by the survey carried out by the youth political action platforms Talento para el Futuro and Polétika, which points out that “gender determines the perception of politics, the meaning of voting and even the vision of Europe, much more than age. It is the factor that most differentiates the attitude of young people towards politics, especially in the first section with the right to active suffrage, between 18 and 24 years old.”
This work, which tries to find out what are the values ??that mobilize the vote in the segment of people between 18 and 30 years old, shows that 65% of the young people surveyed feel disappointed by political representatives (and of them, Men between 25 and 30 years old are the most disappointed, with rates that exceed 70%), half of them “get tired of always hearing the same messages” and many others do not feel represented by politicians. Despite this, the disinterest is not total, since only 13% say that they “do not care” what happens in politics.
This disaffection also reaches the European level: despite the fact that Spanish youth continues to be mostly pro-European, 35% of those surveyed say they do not feel “represented by the EU.” 65% believe that the European Union is beneficial for Spain and for their lives and only 15% would support leaving the EU. Here again the differences are marked by gender and age, men between 18 and 25 years old are the most Eurosceptic, with 25% supporting Spain’s exit from the EU.
Approximately the same percentage who say they do not feel represented by the EU say they do not understand well how the European institutions work. “That is to say, the abstract idea of ??Europe seduces young people, but the figure of the EU seems diffuse, distant and difficult to understand in its operation,” summarizes Belén Agüero, researcher of the analysis.
One month before the elections, only 30% of those surveyed are aware of the electoral event. A third would go to vote if they had more information about the proposals at stake.
