The roller coasters of Spanish politics do not rest. Now it is José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero who is descending vertiginously. The order from the judge of the National Court José Luis Calama, made public this week, states that the former Prime Minister (2004-2011) must undergo a thorough investigation for an alleged crime of influence peddling and money laundering in the management of the bailout of the airline Plus Ultra during the pandemic. The order is not an indictment. It is a reasoned exposition of the elements that lead to the opening of a judicial investigation, with the mandatory notice to the people who become investigated. (Until 2015, the term was accused, but the Criminal Procedure Law was modified in favor of softer language). Accused or investigated, Zapatero is currently on the conveyor belt of public scandal. Felipe González, his great adversary in the PSOE since Zapatero promoted the reform of the Statute of Catalonia, called the order “impressive” yesterday and said he felt “great sadness” for what is happening.

The dotted line through which the tentacles of the plot allegedly led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero extend internationally has a special stop in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). The case reveals that the former president sought to set up a commercial lobby between the United Arab Emirates, Spain, and Latin America to expand his influence. The idea, together with his trusted man Julio Martínez, and an expert in commercial transactions in the Arab country, Tomás Guerrero Blanco, was to help Arab companies enter the Spanish or Latin American market and vice versa.