The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has assured that the Government has “no fear” that the scenes of violence recorded in recent days in France, within the framework of the wave of protests against the Executive, could be repeated in Spain, arguing that in the country all reforms have been promoted through dialogue with social agents.
In statements on Telecinco, the minister acknowledged that in France “there is a violence that is unbearable and totally condemnable”, although he asked to distinguish between that situation and the exercise of fundamental rights by citizens.
“Senseless violence” versus the right to demonstrate
For José Manuel Albares, it is necessary to separate “the senseless and enormous violence of a few” from the “legitimate right to exercise the right to demonstrate and strike of the immense majority of French people” participating in the mobilizations.
Along the same lines, the minister insisted that the Government sees no reason to think that what is happening in the neighboring country, or in other European countries, will be transferred to Spain, where, he defended, in recent years “very important reforms” have been approved with historical improvements in pensions, the minimum interprofessional wage, scholarships, public education, and public healthcare.
Social dialogue and peaceful protests in Spain
Albares stressed that “everything has always been done with social peace, through dialogue as this progressive Government likes”, and added that the different social agents have actively participated in that process, “reaching consensuses, finding agreements”.
According to the head of Foreign Affairs, this climate of agreement explains why Spain today has “one of the highest growths in all of Europe and in the entire most advanced world”. For all these reasons, he reiterated that the Executive does not fear seeing scenes like those in France in Spain.
The minister also highlighted that in the country there have been “very important demonstrations, followed by thousands and thousands of Spaniards throughout Spain”, in favor of public education and the right to housing, and maintained that these mobilizations have developed “in a totally peaceful manner”, with citizens expressing their demands through their right to demonstrate.
