Exploring a Century of Corruption and the Spectacle of Modern Spanish Politics
A new novel uncovers a century of Spanish corruption while commentary critiques the modern political spectacle led by Sánchez.
- • Luis Miguel Jiménez Gómez’s novel 'No he de callar' exposes 100 years of Spanish political and financial corruption from 1918 to 2018.
- • The novel follows journalist Jota, symbolizing the cost of truth-telling in a corrupt society.
- • Political commentator Pedro García Cuartango discusses the shift from ideological debate to image-driven political spectacle in Spain.
- • Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez exemplifies modern political spectacle by manipulating narratives and relativizing truth.
- • The historical and contemporary issues both highlight challenges to democratic integrity in Spain.
Key details
Luis Miguel Jiménez Gómez, a retired economist with over four decades at the Junta de Andalucía, recently presented his debut novel 'No he de callar' at the Casa de la Provincia of the Diputación de Sevilla. The novel chronicles a century of political and financial corruption in Spain, from 1918 through 2018, focusing on Jota, a journalist who suffers for his unwavering commitment to truth. Set mainly in Sevilla and Madrid, the narrative draws historical parallels spanning the reign of Alfonso XIII to the 1936 military coup, underscoring how historical patterns of social unrest and democratic fragility resonate with contemporary challenges like the Catalan crisis and media integrity.
Meanwhile, expert commentary highlights how present-day politics in Spain continues to reflect complex manipulations of truth. Pedro García Cuartango invokes Guy Debord’s 1967 critique of society’s transformation into "a society of the spectacle," where reality is replaced by representations and political narrative overtakes ideological discourse. Cuartango identifies Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as a master of this spectacle, skillfully using propaganda to distort truth, exemplified by his claims against the Popular Party on pension policy and deflection regarding a recent railway accident.
Together, these perspectives reveal an enduring struggle over political transparency and truth in Spain. Jiménez Gómez’s historical account invites reflection on long-standing corruption and its social consequences, while contemporary analysis of Sánchez's strategies illustrates how political spectacle has become the dominant arena for power contests in modern Spain.
This article was translated and synthesized from Spanish sources, providing English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
