Is Spain better off than when Sánchez came to power? Let's look at some data

We live in times in which the narrative crafted by political power constantly attempts to supplant the facts.

The poorest parts of Spain will have to pay more taxes to keep Sánchez in power
Sánchez will 'alleviate the debt' of other countries as Spain's debt breaks records

Sánchez's strategy to cover up corruption scandals

Yesterday, El País published an interview with Pedro Sánchez, in which the socialist leader summarized the corruption scandals affecting his government, his party, and his personal circle, stating: "The strategy is to make noise to cover up the reality". Sánchez attributes these cases to a "smear machine," but the reality is that his wife, his wife, his attorney general, and people who were among his most trusted confidants are being investigated in court for various crimes, and not for mere "press clippings," as he claims in his interview.

Basically, Sánchez wants us to believe that all these scandals are a fabrication to cover up his government's excellent management. In other words, he denies the facts that are coming to light in order to assert supposed facts that contradict the economic data. The Socialist leader even goes so far as to claim: "The Spain of 2025 is much better than the one I found in 2018."

For some time now, Sánchez's strategy has been a massive lie designed to conceal the truth or, at least, to sow confusion and doubt. Regarding the data, this strategy clashes with undeniable facts. I will present some of these facts here, taken from the macroeconomic data published by Expansion.com.

Public debt

Regarding public debt, the situation is unprecedented. Spain has never accumulated such a large public debt as it does now. Spain closed 2018 with a public debt of €1,209,742 million; by the second quarter of 2025, it had already reached €1,690,922 million. Pedro Sánchez has the dubious honor of having seen Spanish public debt reach a record high of 119.30% of GDP during his term, specifically in 2020, Spanish public debt reached a record high of 119.30% of GDP, a percentage never before seen. For those who fail to grasp the enormous burden this places on the people, in 2018 the per capita public debt (what each Spaniard would have to pay) was €25,774, and now it is €34,288. Sánchez's policies are jeopardizing the future of Spain.

Public deficit

Related to the above is the public deficit, that is, the difference between what the State takes in and what it spends. Spain ended 2018 with a deficit of -€30.943 billion. It has now reached -€51.267 billion. Sánchez has the dubious honor of having achieved the highest public deficit since 2009, with -€111.897 billion in 2020 (the 2009 record, set by the socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, reached -€120.576 billion).

Public spending

Looking at the figures for public spending explains the above. The socialist government is squandering money hand over fist. Spain closed 2018 with public spending of 503,193 million euros. In 2024, it reached 725,001 million, a considerable increase that falls on the savings and income of the hard-working taxpayers. We have gone from per capita public spending of 10,721 euros to 14,768 euros. This explains Spain's growing public debt.

Poverty

Furthermore, in 2018, according to Eurostat, Spain ranked 11th among European countries with the highest risk of poverty or social exclusion. The government of Pedro Sánchez has steadily climbed the ranks on this list: by 2024, Spain was already the 5th country in this ranking, surpassed only by Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece. If we only include EU member states, Spain has risen from 6th to 4th.

Unemployment

Regarding unemployment, in June 2018 there were 3.49 million unemployed people in Spain. According to the government, the number of unemployed was projected to be 2.5 million by September 2025. However, what Sánchez has done is apply blatant statistical manipulation to conceal the true unemployment rate. A month ago, Randstad Research indicated that there are 4.17 million job seekers in Spain, which provides a figure closer to the actual unemployment rate. The same source states: "The difference between registered unemployment and actual unemployment shows a difference of 853,009 people in the last month." In other words, there are 853,009 people looking for work but who are not recognized by the government as unemployed.

The Minister of Labor, the communist Yolanda Díaz, invented the figure of "inactive fixed-term intermittent workers" to mask the real unemployment rate, eliminating 1 in 4 unemployed people from the total unemployment figures. As always, this government is more concerned with propaganda than solving the real problems of the Spanish people.

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Photo: La Moncloa.