Ni las subvenciones corruptas, ni las campañas de propaganda y mentira, ni la compra de periodistas y medios de comunicación, ni la ocupación partidista de instituciones pueden eliminar la indignación y el hartazgo ciudadano.
Aunque millones de españoles sospechan que se preparan manipulaciones y fraudes que podrían alterar el resultado de las elecciones, hay que exigir limpieza electoral y transparencia.
Los 38,7 millones de electores convocados tienen una responsabilidad enorme. Deben votar sin miedo, vigilar el proceso, exigir garantías y comprender que su papeleta vale más que todos los recursos propagandísticos del poder.
Si las elecciones logran ser limpias y Sánchez pierde, tendrá que aceptar el resultado; si gana, sus adversarios deberán respetarlo. Esa es la esencia de la democracia liberal que el país necesita recuperar.
Pero la salida del sanchismo, si se produce, no será el final de los problemas, sino el comienzo de una tarea gigantesca: reconstruir España.
Habrá que recuperar la independencia de las instituciones, fortalecer la Justicia, revisar los mecanismos de control del gasto público, garantizar la neutralidad de los organismos del Estado, combatir la corrupción sin excepciones y devolver a los ciudadanos la confianza en sus representantes.
Habrá que recomponer también la unidad nacional, recuperar el prestigio internacional y restablecer una cultura política en la que el interés general esté por encima de los intereses particulares de los gobernantes.
No será una operación sencilla ni barata. Décadas de deterioro institucional y años de polarización no se reparan con un cambio de presidente. Pero los sacrificios de la regeneración merecerán la pena si sirven para que España vuelva a ser un país respetado, solvente, unido y gobernado por ciudadanos que entiendan el poder como un servicio y no como una propiedad privada.
Por eso, el 29 de noviembre puede ser una fecha memorable, en la que repiquen las campanas celebrando en principio de la resurrección, un repique de libertad y gloria, no para celebrar la venganza contra quienes pierdan el poder, sino para anunciar el comienzo de una nueva etapa de decencia pública, responsabilidad y respeto a la ley.
Si los españoles deciden enviar al sanchismo a la oposición, será una victoria de las urnas, de la libertad y de una ciudadanía que se niega a resignarse ante la degradación política. Pedro Sánchez tendrá que abandonar La Moncloa si así lo determina la mayoría democrática, y quienes hayan cometido delitos deberán responder ante los tribunales, no ante las consignas de ningún partido.
El verdadero triunfo no consistirá en destruir políticamente a Sánchez, sino en impedir que vuelva a ser posible un sistema de poder basado en la impunidad, el clientelismo y la subordinación de las instituciones.
Sánchez ha conseguido que España esté herida, pero no está derrotada. Que suenen las campanas: no las del odio ni las de la revancha, sino las de la libertad, la justicia y la regeneración nacional.
Francisco Rubiales
English version:
Spain Awaits the Dawn: 15 Days to Eradicate Sanchismo
Seventeen days remain before Spaniards make history at the ballot box. On November 29, millions of Spaniards will have the opportunity to put an end to one of the vilest, most degrading, dirtiest and most controversial periods in Spanish democracy.
Pedro Sánchez, Begoña and their political circle arrive at this date beset by scandals, institutional erosion, judicial investigations and growing public distrust. Corruption, suspicions about the partisan use of institutions, concessions to parliamentary partners and the deterioration of social coexistence have turned Sanchismo into a symbol of everything a democracy should not allow.
The height of Socialist shamelessness: corrupt members of the government do not want judges to continue pursuing crime during the election campaign, so that the people will not discover how shameless and rotten they are.
Sánchez may try to resist, manipulate, mobilise his loyal supporters and portray his opponents as enemies of Spain, but there is something no propaganda machine can control: the free vote of citizens who are outraged and tired of breathing an atmosphere of decay and corruption.
November 29 will not simply be an election of members of Congress and the Senate; it will be an examination of a way of governing that has made personal survival its main priority.
Neither corrupt subsidies, nor propaganda and lies, nor the buying of journalists and media outlets, nor the partisan occupation of institutions can eliminate public indignation and exhaustion.
Although millions of Spaniards suspect that manipulation and fraud may be being prepared to alter the election result, electoral integrity and transparency must be demanded.
The 38.7 million registered voters have an enormous responsibility. They must vote without fear, monitor the process, demand safeguards and understand that their ballot is worth more than all the propaganda resources wielded by those in power.
If the elections are clean and Sánchez loses, he will have to accept the result; if he wins, his opponents must respect it. That is the essence of the liberal democracy the country needs to recover.
But the departure of Sanchismo, if it happens, will not be the end of the problems, but the beginning of a gigantic task: rebuilding Spain.
The independence of institutions will have to be restored, the Judiciary strengthened, public spending oversight mechanisms reviewed, the neutrality of state bodies guaranteed, corruption fought without exceptions, and citizens' confidence in their representatives restored.
National unity will also have to be rebuilt, Spain's international standing recovered, and a political culture restored in which the general interest takes precedence over the private interests of those in government.
It will not be a simple or inexpensive undertaking. Decades of institutional deterioration and years of polarisation cannot be repaired merely by changing the prime minister. But the sacrifices required for regeneration will be worthwhile if they help Spain once again become a respected, solvent and united country, governed by citizens who understand power as a public service rather than private property.
That is why November 29 could become a memorable date, when bells ring out to celebrate the beginning of a resurrection: a peal of freedom and glory, not a celebration of revenge against those who lose power, but an announcement of a new era of public decency, accountability and respect for the law.
If Spaniards decide to send Sanchismo into opposition, it will be a victory for the ballot box, for freedom and for citizens who refuse to resign themselves to political degradation. Pedro Sánchez will have to leave La Moncloa if that is what the democratic majority decides, and anyone who has committed crimes must answer before the courts, not before the slogans of any political party.
The true victory will not consist of politically destroying Sánchez, but of preventing a system of power based on impunity, clientelism and the subordination of institutions from ever becoming possible again.
Sánchez has left Spain wounded, but not defeated. Let the bells ring: not the bells of hatred or revenge, but those of freedom, justice and national renewal.
Francisco Rubiales
Aunque millones de españoles sospechan que se preparan manipulaciones y fraudes que podrían alterar el resultado de las elecciones, hay que exigir limpieza electoral y transparencia.
Los 38,7 millones de electores convocados tienen una responsabilidad enorme. Deben votar sin miedo, vigilar el proceso, exigir garantías y comprender que su papeleta vale más que todos los recursos propagandísticos del poder.
Si las elecciones logran ser limpias y Sánchez pierde, tendrá que aceptar el resultado; si gana, sus adversarios deberán respetarlo. Esa es la esencia de la democracia liberal que el país necesita recuperar.
Pero la salida del sanchismo, si se produce, no será el final de los problemas, sino el comienzo de una tarea gigantesca: reconstruir España.
Habrá que recuperar la independencia de las instituciones, fortalecer la Justicia, revisar los mecanismos de control del gasto público, garantizar la neutralidad de los organismos del Estado, combatir la corrupción sin excepciones y devolver a los ciudadanos la confianza en sus representantes.
Habrá que recomponer también la unidad nacional, recuperar el prestigio internacional y restablecer una cultura política en la que el interés general esté por encima de los intereses particulares de los gobernantes.
No será una operación sencilla ni barata. Décadas de deterioro institucional y años de polarización no se reparan con un cambio de presidente. Pero los sacrificios de la regeneración merecerán la pena si sirven para que España vuelva a ser un país respetado, solvente, unido y gobernado por ciudadanos que entiendan el poder como un servicio y no como una propiedad privada.
Por eso, el 29 de noviembre puede ser una fecha memorable, en la que repiquen las campanas celebrando en principio de la resurrección, un repique de libertad y gloria, no para celebrar la venganza contra quienes pierdan el poder, sino para anunciar el comienzo de una nueva etapa de decencia pública, responsabilidad y respeto a la ley.
Si los españoles deciden enviar al sanchismo a la oposición, será una victoria de las urnas, de la libertad y de una ciudadanía que se niega a resignarse ante la degradación política. Pedro Sánchez tendrá que abandonar La Moncloa si así lo determina la mayoría democrática, y quienes hayan cometido delitos deberán responder ante los tribunales, no ante las consignas de ningún partido.
El verdadero triunfo no consistirá en destruir políticamente a Sánchez, sino en impedir que vuelva a ser posible un sistema de poder basado en la impunidad, el clientelismo y la subordinación de las instituciones.
Sánchez ha conseguido que España esté herida, pero no está derrotada. Que suenen las campanas: no las del odio ni las de la revancha, sino las de la libertad, la justicia y la regeneración nacional.
Francisco Rubiales
English version:
Spain Awaits the Dawn: 15 Days to Eradicate Sanchismo
Seventeen days remain before Spaniards make history at the ballot box. On November 29, millions of Spaniards will have the opportunity to put an end to one of the vilest, most degrading, dirtiest and most controversial periods in Spanish democracy.
Pedro Sánchez, Begoña and their political circle arrive at this date beset by scandals, institutional erosion, judicial investigations and growing public distrust. Corruption, suspicions about the partisan use of institutions, concessions to parliamentary partners and the deterioration of social coexistence have turned Sanchismo into a symbol of everything a democracy should not allow.
The height of Socialist shamelessness: corrupt members of the government do not want judges to continue pursuing crime during the election campaign, so that the people will not discover how shameless and rotten they are.
Sánchez may try to resist, manipulate, mobilise his loyal supporters and portray his opponents as enemies of Spain, but there is something no propaganda machine can control: the free vote of citizens who are outraged and tired of breathing an atmosphere of decay and corruption.
November 29 will not simply be an election of members of Congress and the Senate; it will be an examination of a way of governing that has made personal survival its main priority.
Neither corrupt subsidies, nor propaganda and lies, nor the buying of journalists and media outlets, nor the partisan occupation of institutions can eliminate public indignation and exhaustion.
Although millions of Spaniards suspect that manipulation and fraud may be being prepared to alter the election result, electoral integrity and transparency must be demanded.
The 38.7 million registered voters have an enormous responsibility. They must vote without fear, monitor the process, demand safeguards and understand that their ballot is worth more than all the propaganda resources wielded by those in power.
If the elections are clean and Sánchez loses, he will have to accept the result; if he wins, his opponents must respect it. That is the essence of the liberal democracy the country needs to recover.
But the departure of Sanchismo, if it happens, will not be the end of the problems, but the beginning of a gigantic task: rebuilding Spain.
The independence of institutions will have to be restored, the Judiciary strengthened, public spending oversight mechanisms reviewed, the neutrality of state bodies guaranteed, corruption fought without exceptions, and citizens' confidence in their representatives restored.
National unity will also have to be rebuilt, Spain's international standing recovered, and a political culture restored in which the general interest takes precedence over the private interests of those in government.
It will not be a simple or inexpensive undertaking. Decades of institutional deterioration and years of polarisation cannot be repaired merely by changing the prime minister. But the sacrifices required for regeneration will be worthwhile if they help Spain once again become a respected, solvent and united country, governed by citizens who understand power as a public service rather than private property.
That is why November 29 could become a memorable date, when bells ring out to celebrate the beginning of a resurrection: a peal of freedom and glory, not a celebration of revenge against those who lose power, but an announcement of a new era of public decency, accountability and respect for the law.
If Spaniards decide to send Sanchismo into opposition, it will be a victory for the ballot box, for freedom and for citizens who refuse to resign themselves to political degradation. Pedro Sánchez will have to leave La Moncloa if that is what the democratic majority decides, and anyone who has committed crimes must answer before the courts, not before the slogans of any political party.
The true victory will not consist of politically destroying Sánchez, but of preventing a system of power based on impunity, clientelism and the subordination of institutions from ever becoming possible again.
Sánchez has left Spain wounded, but not defeated. Let the bells ring: not the bells of hatred or revenge, but those of freedom, justice and national renewal.
Francisco Rubiales