Spain's PM Sánchez must resign and face justice over rail scandal

In an opinion piece for El Debate, Antonio R. Naranjo asserts that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez must resign and face legal proceedings over corruption tied to the railway sector, where 116 people died. The columnist claims these events disqualify Sánchez as a candidate, arguing there is no reason to wait any longer.

Columnist **Antonio R. Naranjo** publishes an article in **El Debate** calling for the resignation of **Pedro Sánchez** and his appearance before the courts. His central thesis is that corruption surrounding the railway service, which has resulted in **116 deaths**, invalidates Sánchez’s candidacy and demands immediate action. The piece was published on **November 7, 2026**.

## Railway corruption and the 116 deaths

Naranjo traces the root of the problem to what he describes as the price Sánchez paid for his investiture: accepting support from parties whose goal, he writes, is to destroy the nation they belong to, in exchange for making the beneficiary of the deal complicit. He argues this episode was the seed of the current legislature's corruption.

The columnist states that suspicions regarding the exchange of public works and commercial licenses for commissions have existed since the very first minute of the government formed in **2018**. He claims the business was conducted at the expense of the railway service, now described as a grave. Hence, the **116 dead** are central to the accusation.

He concludes that the government with the most money in history, driven by high tax pressure and European funds, has fostered the worst known corruption: one that kills in addition to stealing. This is the columnist's opinion, not a proven judicial fact.

## UCO, European Public Prosecutor's Office, and lawfare theory

The text notes that the Spanish judiciary, led by the **UCO** (Central Operational Unit), appears close to resolving the link between kickbacks, commissions, and accidents. It adds that the **European Public Prosecutor's Office** is involved in the investigations.

Naranjo also dismisses the theory of lawfare, labeling it stupid and arguing that, according to bandits, it would explain judges' insistence on holding them accountable under the rule of law. This is the author's assessment, not verified data.

His preliminary conclusion is that all this suffices to demand Sánchez's departure, at least as a candidate, and to place him where he belongs: as the main suspect in having allowed and promoted such corruption through action or omission. If Sánchez does not end up in the dock for this, he writes, he will never do so for anything else.

## Allegations regarding control of PSOE and Moncloa

The columnist argues that Sánchez is effectively intervened upon as president by a coalition of insurgents who previously defended assassination or coup attempts to further their separatist delusions. He claims Sánchez is similarly controlled as Secretary General of the **PSOE** (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) by those who brought him there through dubious means from the metaphorical Peugeot era, taking operational control of the party, the government, and **Moncloa** itself in return.

He cites **Cerdán**, **Ábalos**, and figures like Leires and Koldos, describing them as those who filled organic and institutional positions to manage budgets and control the power ecosystem. He also mentions inevitable Oscars and Hernandos, part of a group of old friends and useful redeemed figures who sold their help to an insignificant man with infinite ambitions at a good price.

These are the author's opinionated statements. They are not presented here as proven facts, and the text provides no documents to back them up.

## A tainted origin since the primaries

Naranjo traces Sánchez's origins to what he calls the same original sin: adulterated primaries, internal betrayals, dirty games against his own comrades, strange economic injections, and a motion of censure that, in his view, planted the seed that has today destroyed the institutional, ethical, and civic building erected during the Transition with the spirit of reconciliation and pogre.

All this, he writes, now explodes in the most coherent sequence of crimes committed and, also, the cruelest for Spanish society. This argumentative line supports his call for resignation and appearance before justice.

This is an opinion column. The accusations contained therein are the author's and do not equate to a judicial conviction. Any assessment of incivil responsibility rests with the courts.