If we review the archives of the last three years, we will see that the current legislature is being fought more in the courts than in the Congress of Deputies. The judicial cases involving politicians fall on the two main parties in Spain, with the difference that responsibility is measured differently depending on whether one is in opposition or in government. Having the responsibility to govern makes any accusation more serious, as we saw with the motion of no confidence against President Mariano Rajoy or as we see now with the indictment of former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
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Is Spain a corrupt country? According to the latest report from the entity Transparency International of 2025, published last February and which annually analyzes the corruption perception index in 182 countries worldwide, Spain ranks 49th. Seen this way, this position would not be entirely bad, but it has worsened. In just one year, Spain has dropped three positions and lost one point in rating, from 56 to 55 out of 100. It is a barely passing grade and 10 points less than 13 years ago when the score was 65. The trend is not good either in the European ranking where Spain is in 17th position out of the 27 EU countries.
What is being asked to redirect the situation? Deep reforms in transparency because there is “a stagnation in the effective application of anti-corruption standards and an erosion of accountability mechanisms.” But to promote these reforms like the State Plan to Fight Corruption presented last year, there must be consensus and in Spain it is increasingly rare to see parties agree. And when they do, they can end up punishing the innocent along with the guilty.
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The experience accumulated so far tells us that every reform approved to fight corruption has resulted in more bureaucracy, slower administrations, and a tendency towards paralysis. And what have all these measures served if cases keep appearing? It is clear. They have not stopped the misuse of the public sector and have harmed citizens. So reforms to prevent corruption are welcome, but study well beforehand what you are going to do so that the usual ones, those who pay and are not guilty, do not end up losing.
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