Spain goes to elections with a busy agenda | The …

From Madrid

Spain is opening one of the most transcendent general elections since the end of the Franco dictatorship. Whatever the outcome of the various investigations, it is clear that the Iberian country will end forty years of bipartisanship and will at the same time open a new stage in which governments will be formed by a coalition of parties. On the other hand, the executive from the vote of the citizens will decide the fate of the central problems of the nation, such as the territorial conflict in Catalonia, the progress or withdrawal of women's rights and the future of a country with the highest unemployment. juvenile of the European Union.

Despite this relevance and one of the most strained election campaigns of recent years, with the emergence of the far right and the leading presidential candidates indulging in accusations of lying and "felony" grievances , or "traitor", indifference and confusion dominated nearly half of the Spanish electorate, which maintained indecision on its vote until the last hours.

Isabel Alegre is one of those who make up this part of the citizens who hesitated until the last moment about the party that was going to vote, even though she has maintained the commitment to vote since her first vote . "It's the first time, and I also agree with a lot of people around me, that it was not clear for which party to vote. I did not like any of them." speech of any force, nor my way of doing politics, "said Alegre, residing in Madrid, but having voted in Catalonia, his hometown, by postal vote." The Catalan debate is now in progress. Collapse in elections and I found no strength that refers to social problems such as lack of work for young people, violence against women or the issue of migrants ", she declared disillusioned.

In the last days leading up to the elections, Alegre decided to support Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC). The main party of Catalan left and independence, whose leader, Oriol Junqueras, is currently judged by the organization of the illegal referendum of 1 October 2017. "Abandonment of the nationalistic burden with which I do not understand, his social vision and its political program suits me, "he explains.

Asked about the treatment of the territorial conflict in his community, Alegre says that independence will not solve social problems, but that this claim is a way to put pressure on Madrid so that she understands that the current regional system does not work.

Carmen de Porras resides in the autonomous community of Canarias, the archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean. "I am going to vote but I do not know which party to belong to, even if I know that I will look to the left.In 2016, I voted for Podemos because it seemed to me something innovative and of different from what I had before, but I have become disenchanted over the last year and I do not know if I will vote for them or for the PSOE, "he said. elections, granting the party led by Pablo Iglesias between 15 and 20 seats less than in the June 2016 elections.

One of the keys to the confusion that reigns in Porras is the profusion of lies and false news that were seen during the election campaign. "There is so much false news and real exaggerated news coming from both sides that you can not trust anyone," says the young computer scientist who does not know who to vote with, she has clear priorities that should be announced. Government "Education, health, the problem of work, equality between men and women and immigrants," he said.

Alejandro Sánchez is a researcher and doctoral student in philosophy in Madrid, but his home community is Ceuta, the Spanish peninsula located on the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar. In the 2016 general election, he did not vote, but he decided to do it on this occasion because he felt that many issues were at stake. "Trying the least harm, I chose the bloc that defends the union of Spain, "he says, referring to the People's Party, the citizens and Vox who, when they reach the government, have promised to neutralize Catalan sovereignty in intervening autonomously even in some cases, prohibit political parties that aspire to independence. "There is no patriotic option left, and that's why I voted white," said Sánchez before explaining that, knowing the historical results of his community, the white vote would increase the support of the forces of right. "The most urgent goal is to solve the problem of Spanish territory, which prevents us from dealing with other very important issues such as health, education and other public policies ", did he declare.

The disenchantment and fatigue expressed by Sanchez, Porras or Alegre are not exclusive to them and are not surprising in this country. This Sunday, they will vote without being certain whether a stable and sustainable government can be formed, otherwise they will have to go to the polls again. After the December 2015 elections, Spain had to repeat the June 2016 elections to end the blockade between parties, which prevented the formation of a new executive. In June 2018, when the legislature created by Mariano Rajoy ended abruptly with a motion of censure, the Spaniards again changed the natural political cycle. With Sunday's election, they will have voted to elect the leader of their country three times in less than four years.