The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations and Government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, has pointed to the far-right as the main beneficiary of the disturbances and violent acts recorded in Spain in recent days, while insisting that the looting that occurred on Saturday night in Barcelona must be investigated, but she remarked that, in her opinion, "whoever wins, in chaos and hatred, is the extreme right."
In an interview on Cadena SER, Elma Saiz has condemned "without palliative care" the violent episodes and stressed that "there is no room for any loophole in the face of any type of violence, neither looting, nor physical injuries, nor against urban furniture." The Executive spokesperson also recalled the warnings of the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, about the demand for accountability for these events and about the fact that the parents of the minors "will have to feel called upon."
The minister wanted, however, to differentiate "what has happened in Barcelona from other movements that are born from civil society, which in an absolutely legitimate way demand rights such as the defense of public education or access to affordable housing."
Criticism of Alberto Núñez Feijóo and the PP
Asked about the statements of the president of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who pointed to an alleged complicity of the Government with violence, Elma Saiz described those words as "absolutely irresponsible." Feijóo stated this weekend that the Government is "resisting to abandon power with violence," and added that "Sánchez is playing with fire," with the fire of "social unrest that he has provoked" and of "the violence that he is not stopping."
The minister rejected that there is desperation in the Executive to remain in power and insisted that, when looking for those responsible, it is "important to see who benefits from these episodes." "What I would say is that when you have to look for culprits, undoubtedly there will be an investigation into what happened in Barcelona, but when you have to look for culprits I would ask myself who wins with these episodes," she said. Then, she answered her own question: "whoever wins, in chaos and hatred, is the extreme right."
Elma Saiz added that, "when chaos, hatred and disinformation are sown, there is always a winner who is the extreme right." In addition, after firmly condemning the violence, she reproached Alberto Núñez Feijóo for not having done so "forcefully" in the face of the demonstrations near the headquarters of the PSOE and, especially, at the central headquarters on Ferraz street. She also criticized the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, for, as she said, disrespectfully referring to the protesting teachers.
Barcelona, under investigation, and the role of social media
In relation to the looting on Saturday in Barcelona, the Government spokesperson insisted that "all responsibilities" will be cleared and that the facts will be investigated and clarified. However, she avoided directly pointing to a possible foreign interference, considering that "all investigations" must be carried out.
"It is always important that we work with realities, we cannot make speculations on such sensitive issues as this," she stressed, before focusing on the role of social networks as a way to "amplify hoaxes and disinformation."
In this context, she defended the need to "put on the table that algorithm transparency, that access of minors to social networks with control, with pedagogy," and assured that this is the objective pursued by the Government with its commitment to a regulation of the digital environment to make it safe.
Finally, Elma Saiz did not want to assess whether the Israeli lobby in Spain could have had any influence, after the warnings of the organization ACOM (Action and Communication on the Middle East), which warned that the Government's complacency with the intifada could spread to the streets of Barcelona. The minister merely pointed out that this is what should be analyzed, and insisted on the weight of social networks in "many of the things that are happening."