Sánchez's legacy: systemic corruption and immigration
Corruption and migration policy define Pedro Sánchez's legacy in Spain, according to a polarized debate between those who see things getting worse and those who disagree.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The two scars of Sánchez's rule: corruption and the border
If anything will remain of Pedro Sánchez's government, according to the harshest political analysis, it is two phenomena: endemic corruption that has reportedly reached unprecedented levels of sophistication – from scandals involving his inner circle to the management of public funds – and a migration policy described as a "third-world invasion" that has turned Spain's borders into a sieve. Both criticisms come from sectors that believe these problems are not new, but that under Sánchez they have been taken to the extreme.
However, there are also those who argue that corruption is systemic and shared by both major parties, and that immigration is a structural phenomenon no government has managed to handle. The polarization is such that each side accuses the other of hypocrisy: the very people who once looked the other way are now outraged, and vice versa. The debate has been reduced to two opposing narratives.
In between lies the uncomfortable fact: both practices – corruption and uncontrolled migration – have been entrenched for decades. The novelty, perhaps, is the intensity of the political noise. Will that be enough to define a legacy?
If anything will remain of Pedro Sánchez's government, according to the harshest political analysis, it is two phenomena: endemic corruption that has reportedly reached unprecedented levels of sophistication – from scandals involving his inner circle to the management of public funds – and a migration policy described as a "third-world invasion" that has turned Spain's borders into a sieve. Both criticisms come from sectors that believe these problems are not new, but that under Sánchez they have been taken to the extreme.
However, there are also those who argue that corruption is systemic and shared by both major parties, and that immigration is a structural phenomenon no government has managed to handle. The polarization is such that each side accuses the other of hypocrisy: the very people who once looked the other way are now outraged, and vice versa. The debate has been reduced to two opposing narratives.
In between lies the uncomfortable fact: both practices – corruption and uncontrolled migration – have been entrenched for decades. The novelty, perhaps, is the intensity of the political noise. Will that be enough to define a legacy?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (42 replies).
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