There is no other way to start this article than by offering condolences to the families and friends of those who died in the train accident in Toledo, as well as recalling the helplines for those affected: 900 122 122, the emergency number; 900 101 020, enabled by Renfe; and 900 001 403, Iryo's number.
Spanish society is completely shocked by what happened this Wednesday, when a Renfe high-speed train collided with an Iryo train. It is normal to demand explanations, to need answers. Even to demand them. We are sad and even angry. But none of that justifies using a catastrophe for political purposes, with the sole aim of creating controversy, when we don't even know what happened or what the final consequences of the accident will be.
After a morning at the scene, listening to the victims of the accident and to relatives distressed by not knowing anything about their loved ones, seeing the chaos, ambulances speeding, judges proceeding with the removal of the bodies, and an entire supportive town dedicated to those affected, I come across a most unpleasant and untimely Instagram post by Marcos Llorente.
«Dear Óscar Puente, isn't it time you put Twitter aside and focused on the job we pay you for? (...) We are fed up with politicians who seem more concerned with winning arguments on social media like 13-year-olds than with responding to the level of responsibility they have. (...) So far you've been a fucking disaster, but as always you'll blame someone else. Let the circus continue,» writes the footballer in a text published on his social media and which Jessica Goicoechea also decides to share. Yes, the same one who, after the Barcelona riots, was making racist comments. What a shame.
One must have very little empathy and think very little, or not at all, about the victims for, when more than 60 deaths have already been counted at the time of writing this article, your only reaction is to publish a message like that. As this article is being written, there is no trace of help numbers, no words of condolence for the victims' families, no information about the places where blood donations are needed.
Instead of using your millions of followers on social media to help, as a large part of Spanish society is doing, you dedicate yourselves exclusively to polemicizing and sowing more hatred and anger. We must know how to respect the collective pain we are suffering and give it the space it deserves. We are doing something wrong as a society when some prefer to feed tension, anger, and indignation rather than help those who need it most at this time: the victims. But no, they seem to think their opinions are more important. Ego, I suppose.
And let it be clear: this article is by no means a defense of the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente. The minister must continue to appear and offer all the explanations that are necessary to clarify what happened. Whether he should resign or not, let everyone judge. I am clear about it. At the same time, Justice must investigate the facts and act with full force. What we cannot normalize is what should not be normal: two fatal train accidents on our country's high-speed network with only a few months' difference. Of course, now the focus is on the victims.