An inconvenient truth is emerging in the public squares of Spain: Demonstrators like those above, demanding a referendum on the monarchy, and the right to a real democracy after eight decades of first dictatorship, and then sham “democracy” (note the quotes, there for a reason). And the media? Well, they find that reality so inconvenient that they choose to gloss over it or ignore it altogether:
On Monday, following the abdication of King Juan Carlos I, thousands of Spaniards took to the streets of the land in favor of the abolition of the monarchy and the installation of a Third Republic by way of a constitutional referendum. The media of the European nation omitted these gatherings, which, in places such as the Puerta del Sol, in Madrid, reached up to 20,000 persons.
The majority of the Spanish press opted to headline their reports with the abdication of the king in favor of his son, Prince Felipe, 46, obviating the gatherings that took place in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza, and Seville, among other regions, where the demonstrators expressed their rejection of the monarchy.
Media such as El País, ABC, El Mundo, La Razón, La Vanguardia, El Correo, El Periódico, Heraldo de Áragon, La Voz de Galicia, El Diario Vasco, among others, decided to emphasize headlines such as: “The King abdicates in order to push reforms which the country demands”, “Felipe VI faces ascension amid institutional crisis”, “The hour of Felipe VI”, “Juan Carlos gives way to Felipe VI”, “A new era”, and “New transition”, among others.
Meanwhile, only El Punto Avui, of Barcelona, and El Diario de Mayorca gave headline space to the multitudinous demonstrations demanding “real democracy, now”.
The streets and squares of Coruña, Pontevedra, Ourense, Ferrol, Vigo, Santiago de Compostela, Oviedo, Gijón, Bilbao, Santander, Burgos, Logroño, Toledo, Ciudad Real, Albacete, Mallorca, Málaga, Granada and Huelva, among others, played host to demonstrations.
Amid all this, the United Left party (IU) has called for the political, social, cultural and citizen forces to maintain demonstrations and demand a referendum “so that the people can decide, and set out on the path toward a more just nation, with more solidarity.”
“They can’t substitute the right of [royal] blood for the rights of the people,” said IU federal co-ordinator Cayo Lara.
The Spanish Congress forecasts that the proclamation of the new king, Felipe VI, will be before the General Courts as of June 18, a date on which the organic law regulating the abdication of King Juan Carlos will be approved, according to Publico.es.
The king has been in power for 37 years, a position he assumed following the death of dictator Francisco Franco on November 22, 1975, after swearing fidelity to him.
Translation mine.
So you can see why the call for a Third Republic is gaining momentum so fast. Who wants an institution put in place by a brutal dictator, and one in which the twit-in-chief swore loyalty to said dictator, to boot?
But don’t expect the Spanish mainstream media to be overly forthcoming about THAT part. Expect, instead, absurd and undeserved praise for the king, the prince, the prince’s fashion-plate wife, and a whole lot of other stupid, superficial crapola.
Expect, also, the real wishes of thousands of fed-up Spaniards to go on being ignored until, inevitably, a riot breaks out. And when that happens, expect that it will have been the army or the police behind it, not the demonstrators themselves. After all, it’s never a riot until the cops show up.
