Overseas voting becomes new flashpoint between Spain's Socialists and their critics

The grandchildren law, overseas voting and the antiestéticar of an electoral coup

The mere mention of the so-called 'grandchildren law' has revived a antiestéticar that is spreading fast: an electoral coup d'état. According to that reading, the law would not repair historical ties but would place four million votes on the electoral roll of countries like Cuba and Venezuela, where there are no democratic guarantees, and distribute them in constituencies where the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Party) is losing, in order to dilute opposition seats.

The figure is no small matter. The same analysis claims that ballot bags can be filled without voters and that overseas votes would be mixed with in-person ballots with no way to tell them apart. The question is whether that is fraud or a takeover of the state by other means.

Sunday's numbers

Some have already calculated the next scenario: the right would win between 180 and 190 seats, but an alternative count puts it at 174. That difference is what critics attribute to manipulation of overseas voting. It would not prevent a majority, but it would strip the opposition of the margin needed to govern.

Institutions in silence

What angers people most is the passivity of the public authorities. Neither the Supreme Court, nor the King, nor the Armed Forces, nor the opposition makes a move. The conclusion of this camp is that a coup does not need tanks: it is enough to dismantle the state from within.

For now there is no ruling and no investigation. But the fact that the mere mention of overseas voting is enough to set off these alarms says more about institutional trust than any official statement.