The association that brings together large family companies in Spain such as Mercadona, Acciona, Gestamp, Barceló, Iberostar, Banca March and Coca Cola Europacific Partners has decided to join the criticism of the investiture agreements in an unusual statement before a vote in the Congress of the Deputies. They argue that the consolidation of “frontism” and the lack of consensus between the two major parties will aggravate the deterioration that is already occurring in Spain’s race to achieve convergence in per capita income with the European Union.
The Family Business Institute and its eighteen territorial associations throughout Spain have made a joint declaration “in defense of 45 years of constitutional coexistence and economic prosperity” and made a “call to democratic political forces to prevail in responsibility, moderation and firm respect for the fundamental pillars of Spanish society”. The family business represents 60% of the Gross Domestic Product in Spain and 70% of the country’s private employment. The signatories alone represent 1,800 associated companies.
They do not question the legitimacy of the Government that emerges from the vote, but they do point out that it was born in a way “that should generate deep concern” due to “the overwhelming response that these investiture agreements have provoked in institutions and associations so central to our administration system.” of justice such as the General Council of the Judiciary, the Professional Association of the Judiciary, the Association of Judges for Democracy, the Association of Judges Francisco de Vitoria, the Independent Judicial Forum Association, the Association of Prosecutors, among others.
According to the text of the declaration, “considerations regarding the possible impact of these pacts on our rule of law should be the subject of reflection by everyone, because institutional stability, and the social and democratic rule of law that our Constitution provides us with offers, they have given us the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity that Spain has enjoyed in its history.
The association chaired by Andrés Sendagorta fears that the investiture will enshrine a divisive style of politics that is very negative for the country. “In recent years, the polarization of political life, frontism and bloc politics seem to question and put at risk the incontestable achievements of our democracy,” they warn.
“What Spain needs at this moment is broad political and social consensus to undertake far-reaching structural reforms with which to combat some notable problems such as unemployment, school failure, budget imbalance or the worrying level of public debt,” they say. “The absence of consensus to deepen the path of reforms will aggravate the sustained loss of competitiveness of our country, which is reflected in the deterioration of our convergence rate with other European economies.” They emphasize that “if in 2009 Spanish income represented 82.4% of the European average, since then we have decreased constantly to 78.4% in 2022.”
They also remember that political alternation has been a constant after the Transition. “In these forty-five years of democratic regime, alternations in government have occurred with complete normality and milestones as remarkable as the greatest territorial, political and administrative decentralization in our history have been achieved. Additionally, Spain has fully incorporated to the European Union and all other multilateral organizations in our geographical, political and cultural environment, without exception.
The IEF board includes, among others, Sol Daurella, Sabina Fluxá, José Manuel Entrecanales, Francisco J. Riberas and Ernesto Antolín.
On the other hand, the Association for the Progress of Management chaired by Laura González-Molero has also issued an unusual statement of protest. Its governing council expresses “from the most absolute economic and ideological independence, its rejection of any violation of the rule of law and constitutional legality, its condemnation of the breach of the separation of powers as a fundamental axis of our democracy, and its deep concern for the rupture of the principle of equality among Spaniards, enshrined in our legal system, and a basic piece of our coexistence in unity”.