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SOCIETY VS. POWER

In the face of this second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are once again faced with a series of restrictions and limitations that burden society anew, a society that does not cease to listen to reproaches from politicians and those responsible for managing this pandemic. At certain times it seems that the blame for the virus and its consequences lies with us, the citizens. Voices, demands, complaints, under the constant warning that if we do not comply, we will have to accept a new house confinement, a confinement at home. But, What did the politicians do to avoid such a situation? What measures and resources have they implemented in the service of public health? What have they done to explain to the public and not have to constantly warn about the application of increasingly severe restrictions? In the face of this pandemic, the political authorities have not found a balance between health and people's fundamental rights , such as freedom of movement and assembly, a...

SOCIEDAD VS. PODER

Ante esta segunda ola de la Pandemia COVID19, nos vemos abocados otra vez a una serie de restricciones y limitaciones que vuelven a lastrar a la sociedad, una sociedad que no cesa de escuchar reproches de los políticos y de los responsables que deben gestionar esta pandemia. En ciertos momentos parece que la culpa del virus y sus consecuencias sea responsabilidad de nosotros, la ciudadanía. Voces, exigencias, quejas, bajo la advertencia constante de que si no cumplimos deberemos aceptar un nuevo confinamiento domiciliario, un encierro en casa.    Pero,  ¿Qué hicieron los políticos para evitar una situación así?  ¿Qué medidas y recursos han implementado al servicio de la sanidad pública? ¿Qué han hecho para explicar a la ciudadanía y no tener que advertir de forma constante la aplicación de más y más duras restricciones?   El poder político no ha encontrado -porque no sabe o no quiere saber-, ante esta pandemia un equilibrio entre lo que es la salud y...

THE POLITICS OF FEAR

We are still in confinement/lockdown, but some of the measures have already been relaxed and over the next few weeks we will have a gradual opening towards "normality".  Looking back, there are facets to be highlighted about how the COVID-19 situation has been dealt with in Spain and how the Spanish society has responded to it. Without a doubt, there are many aspects to be analysed in this question, but we will focus on: why have we, the majority of the Spanish society, complied with the indications of confinement in an uncritical manner?  Firstly, it is true that Spain has been one of the countries that has suffered most, is suffering and will suffer the consequences of the pandemic. In the face of this, we have been imposed very hard and difficult lockdown measures , with severe restrictions on people's mobility and freedom for six long weeks; and two of them, under total confinement.  It is strange that in some European countries certain types of confi...

LA POLÍTICA DEL MIEDO

Seguimos en confinamiento, pero ya se han flexibilizado algunas medidas y a lo largo de las próximas semanas tendremos una apertura gradual hacia la "normalidad". Echando una mirada hacia atrás, hay rasgos a destacar de como se ha tratado en España la gestión del COVID-19 y como ha respondido la sociedad española. Sin duda, existen muchos aspectos a analizar sobre esta cuestión, pero nos centraremos en: ¿por qué hemos cumplido, la mayor parte de la sociedad española, la indicación de confinamiento de manera acrítica? En primer lugar, es cierto que España ha sido uno de los países que más ha padecido, está padeciendo y padecerá las consecuencias de la pandemia. Ante ello, nos han impuesto unas medidas muy duras y difíciles de confinamiento, con restricciones severas de la movilidad y de libertad de las personas durante seis largas semanas; y dos de ellas, con un confinamiento total. Es curioso como en algunos países europeos se ha impuesto a la ciudadanía ...

FREEDOM VS. CONFINEMENT

Today, the globalized world is now lucidly aware of what COVID-19 (Coronavirus) had brought; it has made us all cease, to a hault; it is as if it had put an indefinite pause in our lives. It is clear that we are facing a costly reality, with human, economic and social consequences that nobody dared to predict less than three months ago , given the changing stages that the COVID19 pandemic offers us in each country and their states’ respective responses. Let's focus on people, on how this new "model" of life is already affecting us; a system that has found many of us lose our freedom of movement in effort to drastically stifle the rate of infection, hospitalisation and deaths of the world’s populations. Perhaps we had not thought about this basic freedom before, nor would have thought imagined having to be confined to social isolation, one place for a long and uncertain period of time. When one commits a crime, one can assume that depending on the severity, one ...

LIBERTAD VS. CONFINAMIENTO

A día de hoy, el mundo globalizado sabe lo que está ocurriendo con el COVID19 (Coronavirus); nos ha hecho a todos parar, detenernos en seco ; es como si hubieran puesto una pausa indefinida en nuestras vidas. Claro queda, por lo que estamos viviendo, que nos enfrentamos a una realidad y unas consecuencias humanas, económicas y sociales que nadie se atreve a pronosticar , dados los cambiantes estadios que nos ofrece la pandemia del COVID19 en cada país. Vamos a centrarnos en las personas, en como nos está afectando ya este nuevo "modelo" de vida ; un sistema que nos ha hecho perder la libertad de movimientos a muchos de nosotros. Quizás antes no habíamos pensado en la libertad o no nos habríamos imaginado tener que estar confinados en un mismo lugar por un largo e incierto período de tiempo . Cuando uno comete un delito puede asumir que, en función de los cargos por los que puede ser acusado, se enfrente a la posibilidad de perder la libertad. Pero ahora se trat...

THE FORGOTTEN PAST OF SPANISH SOCIETY

Spain is a country, a society, with a history, with its history. But is this history real? When we go around the world, we Spaniards are often known for our cuisine, our culture, our customs, etc. But what about our history? Does the Spanish society know what happened in the period from 1939 to 1975? Do the people who visit our country know the history of Spain? Not at present, not even the majority of Spanish society knows what happened during Franco's rule: the almost 15,000 or 20,000 people who suffered in Franco's concentration camps; the 1,500-3,000 prisoners who were shot; his almost 300 concentration camps scattered throughout the Spanish territory; the thousands of people who tried to take refuge in France but perished in their attempt or were forced to return to Spain, etc. Many times, I hear that it was a Civil War, in which a large number of people died on both sides; and it is true, but the dictatorship comes when Franco assumes power by force and all the people w...