In traditional criminal law, it is not organizations that commit crimes, but individuals. The situation has changed today and these organizations can be declared criminally liable if their leaders commit crimes in their name and for the direct or indirect benefit of the organization. Since Law 7/2012 on the fight against tax fraud, political parties are considered responsible for these acts, whenever the circumstances described occur. It is precisely for this reason that the PP was found guilty of corruption in the so-called Gürtel affair.
However, for the Spanish right and its associated media, the PSOE is a mafia led by its secretary general, Pedro Sánchez. This, of course, without any evidentiary basis and without a definitive decision declaring it so.
We socialists are accustomed to the violent offensives that occur when we gain the trust of citizens to form a government. Let us remember the call crime syndicate, group of journalists and media critical of the government of Felipe González, which they tried to destabilize by all means at their disposal, including dubious legal or democratic means, as recognized by one of its members, Luis María Anson. Or when Mariano Rajoy, in opposition, accused Zapatero of betraying the dead and reinvigorating a moribund ETA, even though it was his government that put an end to the terrorist group’s armed activity.
Even today, and perhaps with particular virulence, the objective is not only to overthrow a government, but also to weaken, or even put an end to, a party, the PSOE. I do not deny the seriousness of the events committed by Ábalos and Cerdán, nor the imperative need to cooperate with justice to clarify the facts (as is currently the case). But this cannot involve very serious accusations against an organization without supporting evidence.
152,000 people are active in the PSOE. All worthy, honest, pure, who unite to defend their ideals and build a better world. I think the same thing about members of other political parties, including the PP, the vast majority of whom defend their ideals, whether they share them or not, without falling into corrupt practices. None of them is responsible for the acts of corruption, however serious they may be, committed by a tiny minority of their leaders endowed with power and decision-making capacity. Only an independent judicial procedure, with proven facts, can declare the responsibility of an organization in these events, even if we have already been tried and convicted before without any proof.
Between manipulations, lies, confusing information, well anything goes, the possible illegal financing of the Socialist Party is pointed out, due to the alleged fact that Ábalos and Koldo transferred high and unjustified expenses to the party, and it is insinuated that it could respond to a money laundering strategy, suggesting that this favors the PSOE or allows it to finance itself irregularly.
Transparency being a healthy exercise of democratic accountability, simply visit the PSOE website, Financial Accounts and Reports section, where public and private financing (consisting almost exclusively of contributions from its members and their public agents) and the outstanding debt with financial entities are detailed. For years, the PSOE has been pursuing a strict austerity policy which has made it possible to reduce this debt to 11.5 million euros in 2024. Any expert will be able to indicate that its weight, for an organization with income of 91 million euros in 2024, is low.
If the above people charged high expenses to the party and it is shown that this was the case and that they were not justified, then they are the ones who are defrauding or stealing from not only the party, but all members who pay our dues. What does this have to do with irregular funding? As has been indicated, according to the financial reports and opinions of the Court of Auditors, there is none of this, among other things because the PSOE does not need it due to its financial situation.
Mistakes are also made that fill us with pain, anguish, anger and even disgust. It is a tragic irony that the organization that has fought hardest for women’s rights, not only declaratively, but with works such as laws to combat violence against women or to reduce inequalities between men and women in all areas of life, is compromised by the actions of a few unscrupulous people. And there is no room for excuses here, not even excuses; only a determined action. Women who report acts of sexual or sexist harassment (or more serious offenses) must benefit from the presumption of credibility, they must be supported, protected and advised to file a complaint before the courts. And immediately, without further delay.
Because these facts will not make us abandon our beliefs, our way of seeing the world, the values that we defend, because without a doubt it is much better if women obtain the maximum equality. As Ignasi Guardans said a few days ago, and I agree, if the ethical compass that marks the path breaks or decomposes, we are lost.
Meanwhile, in addition to ignoring the rules of the rule of law, the strategy deployed by the PP and Vox attempts to silence the true situation in this country. During his recent visit to Spain, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann announced the results of his annual report: Spain has recorded solid economic growth since the pandemic, accompanied by job creation, a reduction in unemployment, an increase in real wages and an improvement in productivity. Likewise, it is added, structural reforms contribute to improving the quality of employment, fiscal policy is moving in the right direction and the economic model has become more balanced, with a current account surplus and electricity costs lower than those of other European countries. The report also recommends taking measures to ensure the future sustainability of our pensions.
This is the result of government action that is intended to be covered up. Of course, there are problems, and some serious ones, but they wouldn’t be solved by another economic recipe book; they would get worse. For those who wonder if it is worth continuing this legislature, the evidence speaks for itself: a salary agreement has just been signed for civil servants which will improve their real salaries for the next three years, without worrying about the enormous ambient noise and taking care of what really matters to people: their jobs and their purchasing power. The same goes for the more than nine million retirees who will see their pensions increase according to the cost of living and, for certain categories above, gain purchasing power. I believe that these groups and those who, year after year, find work, defend the just causes of feminism, international humanitarian law or the fight against climate change, will prefer that this continue.
I do not intend to minimize the seriousness of these alleged cases of corruption, nor to ignore the problem, since I demand the closest cooperation with the administration of justice, the most acute transparency, knowledge of all the spending mechanisms used in the PSOE and the assumption, where appropriate, of precise responsibilities for the events that occurred. But what I cannot accept is that opprobrium and shame should be heaped on thousands of colleagues and millions of voters for actions committed by a very few.
We will attach ourselves to the mast of the ship, as Ulysses did, so as not to hear the songs of the sirens, to the mast of the struggle for our ideals, because these songs do not bode well for Spanish democracy.
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