We hereby share an unofficial translation of the editorial from the 23^rd issue of the print edition of Servir al Pueblo from the Spanish State, published on the 23^rd of July.

[No. 23 – July 2026] Imperialism, Reaction and Corruption: The Farce of the “Progressive” Government

A new corruption scandal has erupted within the Pedro Sánchez’s government. It seems that the PSOE [Translator’s note: Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party] government is playing an updated version of the Game of the Goose in the style of bourgeois democracy: “From one scandal to the next—and it’s a scandal because it’s my turn.”

Take the President’s brother, David Sánchez, who was given a cushy job at the Office of Performing Arts of the Badajoz Provincial Council, yet couldn’t clearly explain to the judge what his job entailed or where his office was located. He must be the only person on the face of the earth who earns 340,572.36 euros gross and doesn’t really know what he does for a living or where his company is located. Without a doubt, being the brother of the president of an imperialist State is very lucrative—but no less so than being his wife, his father-in-law, or his Minister of Transportation… The president’s entire inner circle is up to its neck in corruption cases.

José Luis Ábalos, who served as the Minister of Transportation and Sustainable Mobility, and as Secretary of Organization for the PSOE, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for crimes of criminal organization, bribery, embezzlement, and influence peddling.

But that’s not the worst of it. Pedro Sánchez’s former political mentor, former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, was charged in the Plus Ultra corruption case with influence peddling and money laundering in connection with the government bailout of the airline of the same name. And on May 19th, jewelry valued at… one million three hundred thousand euros was found in his office at Ferraz (the PSOE headquarters)! Without a doubt, Spain’s “progressive role model” has a lot to explain.

Zapatero isn’t a progressive; he’s a reactionary

Many people refer to Zapatero as “the best PSOE president” (as if the proletariat had to choose between the bad and the worse), or as a “progressive president.” This is clearly false. Zapatero is not a progressive, and never was. He is a full-fledged reactionary. Some people think that only Vox and the PP [Translator’s note: People’s Party] are reactionary, but this is because they confuse the appearance of things with their true essence. They are unaware of the nature of the State, which is an instrument of repression by one class against another, and they are also unaware of the function of the governments in power, which is to manage the State. That is to say, to manage the interests of the big bourgeoisie.

No one who manages an imperialist State can be progressive. No one. It is objectively impossible. We will never tire of repeating, in every possible way, that there is nothing progressive about imperialism. Therefore, no matter how fine the words of a bourgeois politician may be, their function is one: to manage the interests of the reaction. No politician who manages the imperialist State can be progressive, because imperialism is reaction all along the line.

Imperialism is not economically progressive: monopolies stifle the economy. They are constantly destroying the productive forces through their policies of accumulation and speculation. In oppressed countries, imperialism does not do away with the feudal or semi-feudal social relations of production that previously existed; rather, by relying on them to carry out greater exploitation, it deepens them even further.

Imperialism is not politically progressive: it promotes wars of aggression, genocide, and crimes of every kind. It fosters repression, fascism, the militarization of states, and all manner of anti-popular policies.

Imperialism is not progressive in the cultural sphere: it promotes individualism, pessimism, and all manner of bourgeois and petty-bourgeois ideas that morally and psychologically destroy the working class. It fosters postmodernism and other distortions of reality to undermine popular movements and make them compatible with exploitation.

Imperialism is reaction all along the line. The Spanish imperialist State, therefore, is no exception: it, too, is reaction all along the line. The Spanish State is an instrument of the monopolies, an instrument of the big bourgeoisie against the workers. There is absolutely no possibility of reform or improvement from within the State. This is a scientific truth that has been demonstrated for more than 150 years by Marxism and by history itself.

So… why does the image of Zapatero as a progressive leader exist? First, because the monopolistic media themselves promote this image. Second, because, as we have said, people confuse appearance with the essence of things.

It is true that under Zapatero’s administration, laws were passed to combat gender-based violence (Organic Law 3/2007, on effective equality between women and men) and to protect democratic rights, such as marriage equality (Law 13/2005, of July 1, amending the Civil Code regarding the right to marry). He also enacted a series of measures on historical memory, public health, the right to abortion, and a long list of other issues. But does this make him a progressive? Not at all. Setting aside the limited effectiveness of some of these laws, all of these legislative reforms were the result of popular struggles in previous years. The PSOE exploited the interests of the masses and set itself up as a progressive political force, exactly as it is doing now.

What else did Zapatero do—things that aren’t talked about as much? He gradually raised the retirement age from 65 to 67, and pushed through the 2010 labor reform, which reduced business costs, made it cheaper to fire employees, and gave employers more power over the unions. The shameless practice of opting out of collective bargaining agreements—a common practice in which companies lower wages below the agreed-upon rate by citing a difficult economic situation (often fabricated)—took place thanks to the “all-around progressive” Zapatero.

It’s not just what he did; it’s also what he didn’t do. He didn’t change the criminal immigration policy one iota. The Detention Centers for Foreigners (CIE)—prisons where migrants are tortured, raped, and murdered—remained open. Thousands of migrants crossing the sea in small boats or makeshift vessels were still left to die in silence, and those attempting to scale the fences in Ceuta and Melilla continued to be beaten and shot at. He amended the Immigration Law, but only to facilitate the arrival of more migrants so they could be exploited. Undocumented migrants continued to be exploited in agriculture, manufacturing, and construction—primarily in the latter.

Under Zapatero’s government, Spanish monopolies increased their export of capital to Latin America and intensified the plundering of its peoples. Through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations project, Spanish imperialism sought to gain a foothold on the continent. In terms of repression, everything remained the same. Political prisoners continued to be tortured in prisons, and trade unionists and social activists continued to be repressed. And let’s not forget his responsibility for the 2008 crisis of capitalist overproduction. He hid what was coming from the people and deceived them with “signs of recovery” that did not exist.

Zapatero is a reactionary. Rajoy, in fact, continued the policies he had initiated. There is no difference on fundamental issues between the PP and the PSOE. Therefore, in response to the now-classic argument that “the right would have done worse,” we have nothing to say. There is none so blind as those who will not see.

All bourgeois politicians are corrupt

Is it surprising that Zapatero is corrupt? Of course not. It comes as no surprise at all… He was Prime Minister for nearly 8 years! Naturally, the public face of Spanish imperialism is corrupt. All bourgeois politicians are. It doesn’t depend on whether they’re honest or not; it’s inherent in bourgeois democracy and the class character of the State. And let’s not forget that the so-called alternative left in parliament is just as guilty and complicit as the government itself.

Just ask the residents of Cañada Real. There, it is Izquierda Unida—and not just the PP, Vox, or the PSOE—who are the criminals. The local Izquierda Unida group in Rivas (part of Cañada lies within the municipal boundaries of Rivas) is evicting residents from their homes so the buildings can be demolished and construction companies can speculate by building luxury villas. Then, “progressive” politicians go for a stroll along the paths of the Cañada (even some ministers!) to use the residents for their electoral propaganda. The activity of bourgeois politicians: going to see the poor, just like someone goes to the zoo.

Just ask the residents of the l’Horta Sud region (Valencia), which was affected by the State’s criminal mismanagement during the floods on October 29th, 2024. Mazón isn’t the only criminal. Compromís is equally responsible for how badly the reconstruction went—and continues to go. What has Compromís done since that October 29th? It has infiltrated the neighborhood movement for reconstruction to destroy it from within. It has tied all demands to its own parliamentary interests. It has prevented grassroots organization outside of the institutions. This comes as no surprise, of course. After all, they, too, are administrators of the imperialist State.

It is both comical and lamentable to watch the bourgeois talk show hosts, on both sides, hurl accusations at one another to determine who is less corrupt. We are fed up with this parliamentary circus. We are fed up with their electoral farce every four years to elect the next corrupt official who will manage the interests of the big bourgeoisie. We are fed up with their bourgeois democracy.