The difference between Zapatero and many Spaniards whom Sánchez has ruined

In 2020, the government of Pedro Sánchez, a coalition of socialists (PSOE) and communists (Podemos), led many Spaniards to ruin.

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It did so by establishing a very strict lockdown due to the pandemic, as a result of not having taken timely measures so as not to hinder the mobilizations of leftist feminism on the occasion of March 8. The Sánchez government refused to implement border controls until it was too late (even Portugal and Morocco acted before it did), and as a result, Spain was severely affected by the pandemic. In addition to demonstrating a great lack of foresight, Sánchez took advantage of the lockdown to violate fundamental rights, as confirmed a year later by the Constitutional Court (which was not yet under the control of the socialists).

The Spanish government was an example of terrible pandemic management. To whitewash his incompetence at that critical moment for our country, Sánchez said he had a "committee of experts" that didn't actually exist. It was one of the many big lies his government has been spreading since coming to power. In economic terms, his poor management of the pandemic led to the closure of more than 200,000 companies and more than 300,000 self-employed professionals.

After causing this social, health, and economic disaster, Sánchez used European recovery funds to bloat the state, allocating 75% of the funds to public administrations. Between 2021 and 2024, more than €9 billion from the European Union were used by the government for current expenditures. Of that amount, Adif, Renfe, and the Ministry of Transport received 5 billion euros, money about which one must ask what it was used for, given the astonishing deterioration of our railway network, now impossible to hide after the Adamuz train accident. Less than a fifth of those funds reached those for whom they were intended. Many companies and self-employed individuals who were severely affected by the lockdown have not seen a single cent of that aid.

Today we can confirm that this money flowed considerably into the socialist ranks. It is no coincidence that the arrival of these funds coincided with a series of corruption scandals in the government and the PSOE, some of them related to the granting of aid from these European funds and to schemes to award public contracts in exchange for kickbacks. One of those cases involves the government's bailout of an airline linked to the Nicolás Maduro dictatorship for an amount of 53 million euros, despite the fact that that airline did not meet the requirements for that bailout. In recent weeks, various reports have highlighted the role of former Socialist President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in that bailout, bringing to light a new scandal.

Yesterday, El Mundo revealed that Zapatero received €450,000 for "comprehensive consulting" services from a friend's company involved in the Plus Ultra case. A few hours ago, the same publication reported that the former Socialist president received 45% of that company's revenue. These reports suggest the possibility that Zapatero benefited from the irregular bailout of that airline, which he himself initiated, allegedly using his influence in Sánchez's cabinet to ultimately obtain considerable profits.

Meanwhile, many Spaniards ruined by this government are still waiting for aid that never arrives to alleviate the devastation caused by Sánchez and his cabinet six years ago with their disastrous handling of the pandemic. The difference between these Spaniards and Zapatero is that the former are not members of the PSOE, nor do they wield the enormous influence that the former president has in the Moncloa Palace, which has now become the epicenter of political corruption in Spain.

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Photo: PSOE. Pedro Sánchez and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero talking at a PSOE event in Barcelona on May 26, 2023.