Spain has not broken up. At least not for now. In the future we will see. The result of the elections in Catalonia on Sunday has shown that the pardons and the potential amnesty, the so-called policy of de-inflammation which Pedro Sánchez opted for, not without assuming deep internal and external attrition, has had the its result, mobilizing a pragmatic electorate around the project represented by Salvador Illa and demobilizing independence. This is so and even Carlos Alsina (Onda Cero) has recognized it.
It is also true that some decisions that Sánchez has taken recently are very debatable and risky. The five days of reflection in April, still not properly explained, are preceded by a tumultuous start to the legislature and a paralyzed Parliament. It is not a comfortable period for the PSOE and the horizon continues to be full of twists and turns. The parliamentary majority is no longer left-wing and hangs in the air the sword of Damocles of a future pact between PP and Junts.
The Catalan elections have also served to silence some behavior that proclaimed that Spain is a country more similar than anything to some Latin American republics due to the lack of freedoms and equality of citizens. It was enough to take a look at social networks in recent weeks to verify this. Terms like cabdillismo or dictatorial attitudes were some of the personalized adjectives for Sánchez, of whom the opposition went as far as to say that he was a pro-independence vote machine. Hyperventilation syndrome mainly affects accounts established in Madrid, essentially within the M-30. Comanche territory for newcomers. This group, a minority but noisy, had been proclaiming “Spain is breaking up” for months, probably years. Isabel Díaz Ayuso is one of them: “A narcissist and a rabid minority endanger the unity of Spain”, she went so far as to say.
Precisely Spain has been one of the most used terms on X, formerly Twitter, during the last few hours. After the Catalan elections, the proper name has been catapulted by a good number of users to emphasize that the rupture that was predicted is neither there nor expected.
What could break Spain is not the political dialogue. What could cause a real rift is not being able to make ends meet due to inflation that doesn’t stop, not having the possibility to access a decent roof to live under or for the new generations to live in a worse world. In these matters the country still has a lot to do.
