The President of the Government did not carefully measure the scope of his words when he responded to Víctor de Aldama’s accusations by stating that “the statements of an alleged criminal do not deserve any credit.” It would be enough to remind Pedro Sánchez that, in Spain, what is presumed is innocence, not guilt, by mandate of the Constitution. But since he has not moved in the coordinates of the rule of law for a long time, he should better understand the meaning of political opportunity, because the same thing he says about Víctor de Aldama would have to be said about his own wife, Begoña Gómez, who, even Not being in provisional prison like the businessman who is a friend of the PSOE, she is also being investigated by a court. Or José Luis Ábalos, his right-hand man in the PSOE, Minister of Transport and deputy for Valencia a little over a year ago. Or Koldo García, bearer of a privileged pass through the socialist corridors of Ferraz and the Government; and those who remain to come. Sánchez recognizes or denies credibility depending on who the alleged criminal is, because the PSOE has believed, a lot, alleged criminals when the person questioned was the PP.
The circumstance occurs, absent in the disqualifying trial of President Sánchez, that this “alleged criminal” named Víctor de Aldama arranged a trip to Spain, with a meeting plan, with the vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez. He also walked freely through the main ministries of the Government, had some of the president’s most prominent collaborators on his agenda –Ribera, Marlaska, Torres–, did multimillion-dollar business with his departments, attended the VIP line at PSOE events and even sat down. He took a friendly photo with Sánchez himself. And when the Chief Executive declares that everything said by Aldama is false, it would be good for him to remember how many times he himself has said about this or that that is false and was not; or that it was true and it wasn’t. In Sánchez’s dictionary, lying is called a change of mind.
Víctor de Aldama did not disappoint in his voluntary statement before the judge of the National Court. After his requests for release failed, he decided to show that his silence is worth a lot, because, probably, Aldama’s accusations against Cerdán, Ábalos, Ribera, Torres, Gómez and Sánchez are only the first. A warning of what is jealously kept in the bedroom. His testimony before Judge Moreno, which the Prosecutor’s Office sees as credible, is of such seriousness and affects so many figures of Sanchismo that it represents an opening in the channel of the Executive and the party.
The reaction of the PSOE is logical: to flatly deny the illegal commissions and announce complaints for crimes of libel and slander. But, politically, there is no complaint that can stop the attack that the PSOE suffered this Thursday, nor the consequences of everything Aldama has said and remained silent. Until now, any attempt to close processes and silence judges has gone badly for the PSOE. On the contrary, the list of judicial appointments that worry Ferraz increases, from Gómez to Ábalos, passing through Koldo and Aldama. Of course, Aldama will have to prove what he has said if he wants it to have any relevance in the judicial process in which he is immersed; But there are at least two signs that suggest that his statements are far from being fireworks. On the one hand, it incriminates itself by acknowledging that it paid illegal commissions produced by corrupt contracts. As jurists know, when a suspect recognizes his own responsibility it gives great strength to the accusations he makes against others. On the other hand, if you want to force a beneficial agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office – freedom with conditions, less sentence in exchange for information – it is better that behind each accusation there is a message on the mobile phone, an email or a recorded conversation than the accredit. If he has it, it will soon be known, because Aldama has launched an order from which he can no longer retract, under penalty of sinking his defense strategy.
It is theoretically possible that he is a fabulist; but it is not likely that everything he has said is a fabrication. There are many first and last names, very specific figures, precise data of time and place. The PSOE will need a more refined strategy than mere denial and the usual complaint to counteract the political and social pressure of this bag of corruption that Aldama has dumped on him, in court, assisted by an experienced lawyer and assuming in first person his own responsibilities.
#ABC #Editorial #devastating #testimony
