“A person, in this case Íñigo Errejón, does not determine a political projectwhich is the heritage of the company. This is how the former President of the Spanish Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, responded this Monday to questions from the media on whether the alleged sexual crimes of the current former deputy of Sumar could have harmful consequences on the government of Pedro Sánchez.
For Rodríguez Zapatero, “this is a fact that concerns us all, but beyond individual consideration, the most important thing is the political reaction to any event.” This is why, according to him, “it is a matter of the project and the party as a whole, in this case, rising to the occasion, because that is what the citizens will observe.”
“I think there have always been counterfeiters,” he said, to highlight two lessons learned from the “Íñigo Errejón” case. “The first is that the reaction of society, I’m not saying that all parties, the media, public opinion, has been so strong, so decisive, that I think it’s a very encouraging message, that we are gradually winning a battle for women’s freedomin favor of the dignity of women, in favor of equality between men and women”, underlined Rodríguez Zapatero. “We are gradually winning a battle that goes back to prehistory and history, which is written with the words of discrimination, domination and abuse”, he added, to complete that it is for him “a capital question” and that “”What distinguishes an advanced democratic society is respect of equality.”
And the second lesson, as he explained, is that “the only thing that Marxism and liberalism could agree on, in historical terms, is that they have not addressed in their main approaches any question linked to the equal rights of women, to the dignity of women”. women. “I know that during the French Revolution they were practically banned. This is a great conclusion, the challenge is an intellectual challenge, but it is above all a cultural challenge, to bet on a culture of sensitivity, of peace, of consideration of the equality of men and women”, a- he declared.
Rodríguez Zapatero considered that “fortunately” Spain “is one of the most culturally aware countries in this areawith more sensitivity, with more progress, and this is largely the result of the feminist movement, which has rectified history, a history of discrimination and inequality. “But I think that supporting the feminist movement, as many fundamentally left-wing parties have done, is a political and democratic duty, and I am convinced that the reaction to the events we have experienced comes from the entire political spectrum with absolute strength,” he said. declared.
“Reporting is the hardest thing”
Regarding the debate on whether women should denounce more, Rodríguez Zapatero indicated that “from the experience of the people” who “transmitted this situation to him”, he considers that “the difficult thing for a woman is to denounce, especially if it comes from people she knows.” publicly.”
This is why he called for the articulation of other mechanisms that “allow victims to be better preserved in this battle, so that harassers and those who commit gender-based violence are completely banned.” In this sense, recommended that “complaints be filed in court”, because “very powerful canals have been built” protect victims within the justice system.
On the other hand, when asked by the media about the photograph of President Sánchez with Víctor de Aldama, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero declared that when he saw the photo he said to himself: “My God! the photos I got during my trip. I think he explained it and that honestly, he is not going to give more of himself,” he defended.
The former President of the Government made these statements during the event organized in Ávila for the presentation of the book ‘Eustasio Meneses Muñoz (1882-1941) From the House of the People to the City Hall of Avila’, by the author Francisco Arrabal Lopez.
