Diego Sánchez de la Cruz.

Santiago de Compostela, 1988. Journalist and teacher.

Author of

Liberalismo a la Madrileña

(Deusto), a book about politics that Esperanza Aguirre began and reaches the era of Díaz Ayuso.

Before, Madrid was like Rome, the city of politicians and officials, and Barcelona was Milan. Why is there liberalism in Madrid and not in Barcelona, ​​if the soil was more fertile there? Liberalism in Madrid was, first, an intellectual tradition, nothing more. Then someone chose Esperanza Aguirre as a candidate, as he could choose other politicians. Aguirre won the elections and made a radical bet. And it worked. People liked it and the policy change became culture. Today, four out of 10 people in Madrid come from other places. They have come to find a life and, for that reason, they like the model. Liberalism in Madrid is popular liberalism. That, what does it mean? In Madrid the citizen is told: "Go ahead; do not ask me for help but rest assured that I will not hinder you ». In Catalonia, aid appears in exchange for obstacles,in exchange for being asked if you are a good Catalan. There is a tremendous statistic that I get out of the book: Madrilenians trust their neighbors 50% more than Catalans. My eye is increasingly wandering to the statistics of the risk of poverty. It's true: growth is useless. nothing if it does not spread throughout the population. Let's talk about the risk of falling into poverty: in the most liberal communities it is 12 points. In the interventionist communities it is 18 points. If I compare myself with my friends in Las Palmas ... I know that they pay me better in Madrid, that later the money spreads almost the same and that I lead a harder life than they do. More lonely and exhausting, it is that Madrid also comes to suffer. I am also far from my family and I don't know who lives in the front door. It's hard. Madrid is no paradise,far from it is a tax haven. But it gives us opportunities. There are four more points of employment, better growth rates, entrepreneurship ... We are here because it is likely that we will do better economically, that we find the fuel to start. And, be careful, the trip can be round trip, that many people return to their city with a human capital that they did not have when they arrived. Madrid is the locomotive that pulls the wealth of Spain, it has not grown from the confrontation. Well, when Ayuso said "they do not understand how we live" ... That sounded very PNV. That was a personal relief after having had a very bad time, receive a tremendous smear campaign. It was about you crazy, remember, true or false? The liberal essence is a skeptical attitude towards everything, including the necessary goodness of the free market. True.In the liberal tradition, a great deal has been written against cartels and excessive capital accumulation. Therefore: the opposite of a liberal is not a social democrat. True? True. The social democrat believes in the protective action of the state, but knows that there is a point at which that action is pernicious. So they are complementary visions. Do you view the new German government of the SPD, Liberals and Greens with sympathy? If the German government endorses the criteria of economic competitiveness and personal freedom, it can be an interesting case to be aware of. And is the environmental agenda compatible with a liberal party? If the agenda consists of reducing emissions by 90% in a year, no, because that suffocates a society. If the agenda is realistic, it is perfectly compatible. Tell me about the theory that Madrid does tax dumping.If you compare European taxation, the strange thing is not what Madrid does, but what is done in the rest of Spain. Will the culture war ever end? Will anyone win? In an open society there are no culture wars, there is a constructive exchange of arguments. The culture war occurs in societies that tend to close, in which a single correct way of living and thinking is defined.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Madrid

  • Hope Aguirre

  • Catalonia

  • Isabel Diaz Ayuso

  • Final Interview

Politics The leadership of the PP calls for order to settle and the struggle between Pablo Casado and Díaz Ayuso

Politics Ayuso denies the "coup" against Casado but maintains the pulse with Genoa to lead the PP in Madrid

Interview Rocio Monasterio: "To the liberals who criticize what we say about the menas to send each one an ore home, one for Bardem, one for Willy Toledo ..."

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