The Mascarillas case ruling has set the path. A very harsh sentence against the corrupt – José Luis Ábalos and Koldo García – and exoneration for the corruptor – Víctor de Aldama. The rules of the game are clear, and whoever wants to follow them has options to avoid jail. This is what the two Martínez in the Plus Ultra case have done.
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Businessman Julio Martínez Martínez declared yesterday before the judge that he created the company Análisis Relevante to act as an intermediary and collect payments for contracts made to former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The day before, the president of Plus Ultra, Julio Martínez Sola, confirmed these payments to obtain a government loan for his company in return. He even went on to say that it was Zapatero himself who contacted him to offer help to save the airline.
It will be the word of these two businessmen against that of the former president. The problem for Zapatero is that the money trail is unequivocal. Plus Ultra paid Análisis Relevante, and this company paid him under the subterfuge of consulting reports. The judge will have to determine whether this is a crime or merely the action of a shrewd lobbyist. Regarding the government’s involvement, there are sufficient arguments from the State General Intervention, the Court of Auditors, and the Court of Justice of the European Union to prevent any talk of malfeasance. It should be remembered that the bailout for this airline reached 53 million euros, but the Executive helped many other companies due to the negative effects of COVID, with an amount that reached 3,255 million.
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But beyond the judicial investigation, there is a torpedo in the waterline of Zapatero’s credibility. If the suspicions are confirmed, the former president would have lied to everyone: to the judge, to the Senate, and in his first and only public appearance. This is the worst stain for him, for the Government, and for Spanish socialism. The ball can be made bigger, or errors can be admitted. What can no longer be done is to hide the stain. It is too obvious.
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