Dialogue on the challenges facing Spanish society today

On 11 September 2024, the Rafael del Pino Foundation organised the dialogue "Conversations in the public space. Dialogues on the challenges facing Spanish society today" with the participation of Elisa Chuliá, Benito Arruñada and Elisa de la Nuez and Víctor Pérez-Díaz.

Elisa Chuliá studied Magister Artium at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz (Germany) between 1983 and 1989. After completing postgraduate studies at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (CEACS) of the Juan March Foundation (Madrid), she defended her doctoral thesis at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology of the Complutense University of Madrid (1997). Since 2003 she has been a full professor at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), teaching in the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, of which she was dean between 2007 and 2011.

Benito Arruñada, is Professor of Business Organisation at the Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona), Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona (UAB), Professor of Business Administration at the University of Barcelona (UAB) and Professor of Business Administration at the University of Barcelona (UAB). Barcelona School of EconomicsResearch Associate at the Fundación de Estudios de Economía Aplicada (Fedea) and Coordinator of the Free Market Forum. Previously, after graduating from the universities of Oviedo and Rochester, he was Full Professor and Professor at the Universities of Oviedo and León, and John M. Olin Visiting Scholar in Law and Economics at Harvard Law School. In addition, he has developed his teaching and research career in other universities, such as Paris I, Sorbonne, Paris X, Nanterre, Singapore Management University, Frankfurt, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Universidad Pablo Olavide.

Elisa de la Nuez holds a degree in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid. She joined the Corps of State Lawyers in 1988. She has held a wide range of relevant positions in the public administration and currently combines her work in the Administrative Courts of the National High Court with other professional work. She is a founding partner of the consultancy firm Iclaves and has been Secretary of the Board of Directors of several private and public companies. In the teaching area, she has collaborated with centres such as ICADE, the Complutense University of Madrid, the San Pablo-CEU University and the Institute of Fiscal Studies. She is co-editor of the blog ¿Hay derecho? and of the book of the same name published by Península together with other co-authors under the collective pseudonym "Sansón Carrasco" and Secretary General of the Fundación ¿Hay Derecho?

Víctor Pérez-Díaz (Madrid, 1938). President of Analistas Socio-Políticos (ASP), Madrid. Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Academia Europaea. PhD in Sociology from Harvard University. Professor of Sociology at the Complutense University of Madrid as well as Visiting Professor at Harvard University, MIT Cambridge (MA), University of California, San Diego, New York University and the Institut des Sciences Politiques de Paris. He is the author of some sixty books published in several languages, including "La Primacia de la Sociedad Civil" (Madrid, Harvard 1993), "La Lezione spagnola" (Bologna 2003) and "Markets and Civil Society" (New York 2009).

Summary:

Dialogue on the challenges facing Spanish society today

The event organised by the Rafael del Pino Foundation, entitled "Conversations in the public space. Dialogues on the challenges facing Spanish society today", brought together a group of leading experts on 11 September 2024 to discuss the main challenges facing Spanish society. Participants included Elisa de la Nuez, Benito Arruñada, Víctor Pérez-Díaz and Elisa Chuliá, who offered a broad view of the political, social, economic and technological problems affecting the country.

Rule of law and political polarisation

Elisa de la Nuez, state lawyer and co-editor of the blog ¿Hay Derecho, focused her speech on the deterioration of the rule of law in Spain, highlighting the risks associated with the growing politicisation of institutions. According to de la Nuez, Spain is going through a crisis in institutional checks and balances, which has worsened in recent years. He stressed that the government, by relying on parties with an illiberal vision of the rule of law, has made concessions that have weakened judicial and legislative institutions.
De la Nuez cited the Amnesty Law as a clear example of how matters of great political relevance have recently been handled without adequate guarantees, as it was processed as a bill without consultation with the relevant bodies. She also warned about the role of the Constitutional Court, which, according to her, has lost its impartiality and resolves important cases by aligning itself according to predictable ideological blocs. Although these problems are not new, she explained that the situation has worsened due to the public justification that "this is the right thing to do". In her view, this is a clear sign that democracy is at risk of adopting illiberal practices.
He also highlighted as a positive aspect the recent appointment of a new president of the General Council of the Judiciary, selected without her name being previously known, which he interpreted as a step towards the independence of this body.

The role of the citizen and corruption among elites
Benito Arruñada, Professor of Business Organisation at Pompeu Fabra University, addressed the issue from an economic and labour perspective, reflecting on how the current system in Spain reflects certain dysfunctions. He began by pointing out the paradox that, although Spaniards tend to reject more flexible labour reforms, in practice they avoid formal labour law by resorting to alternative forms of work, such as self-employment and the underground economy.
Arruñada stressed that Spain has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe and that the Spanish labour system is not prepared to face the challenges posed by artificial intelligence. In his opinion, this type of technology will mainly affect the most qualified people, since the tasks that increase productivity are those performed by lawyers, judges, registrars and other professionals who have traditionally been well paid. This change, he said, will have profound sociological and economic implications, which institutions and the education system are not prepared to manage adequately.
Another key point of his speech was his criticism of the concept of "crony capitalism", which he considered to be an incorrect term to describe the Spanish system. Instead, he spoke of a crony state, where clientelistic relationships are not so much in the private sector as in the public sector, with a strong role for civil servants and pensioners, who, in his opinion, are the main beneficiaries of a system that perpetuates their influence over politics.

The importance of education and demography
Elisa Chuliá, Senior Lecturer at the UNED, made a profound reflection on the deterioration of the Spanish educational system, an aspect that she considered fundamental to understanding the disaffection of citizens with their institutions. Chuliá stressed that the low quality of public debate and the lack of civic capacity are a direct consequence of an education system that does not encourage critical thinking or active participation by citizens.
He criticised the tendency in Spain to generalise and homogenise political and social debate, an attitude that is reflected in the idea that "all politicians are the same", which prevents citizens from developing a real capacity to discern and correctly elect their rulers. Chuliá stressed that a significant part of Spanish society lacks the knowledge and tools necessary to make informed decisions, which contributes to the perpetuation of unaccountable political elites.
With regard to education, Chuliá insisted that the current system is inefficient and unequal. He mentioned that while a small educational elite manages to gain access to quality institutions, the majority of young Spaniards lack adequate training, which prevents them from progressing and participating fully in democratic life. He also pointed out that demography is a key factor in Spain's future, as the low birth rate and ageing of the population present unprecedented challenges. The lack of births makes the education system less relevant and hinders the sustainability of public policies in the long term.

Civil society and public space
Víctor Pérez-Díaz, sociologist and president of Analistas Socio-Políticos, closed the debate with a reflection on the role of civil society in improving the quality of public space. He stressed that the civic capacity of citizens is essential for the proper functioning of democracy, and that this depends on a public space where honest dialogue and active participation prevail. In his view, the Spanish public space is far from achieving this ideal, as debate is often dominated by partisan interests and not by the common good.
Pérez-Díaz called for the need to revalue dialogue and civic participation, understood as an integral part of the democratic process. According to him, one of the great challenges is for citizens to regain confidence in institutions and in the democratic system. To this end, he proposed fostering a virtuous circle in which the quality of public space has a positive influence on the country's politics, economy and culture.
Despite the pessimism of some of the participants at the event, Pérez-Díaz was optimistic, pointing out that citizens have the capacity to correct the course through education and the strengthening of democratic values. He argued that although the process of improving public space can be long and complicated, it is essential that citizens are aware of their power of choice and the importance of making informed decisions.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the event underlined the importance of civic education, institutional independence and citizen participation to face the challenges facing Spanish society. The speakers agreed that the current situation is marked by political polarisation, lack of trust in institutions and demographic and technological challenges, but that, at the same time, there are opportunities to improve the quality of public space and strengthen democracy.

The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for the comments, opinions or statements made by the people who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their sole responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference are the result of the debates held at the meeting held for this purpose at the Foundation and are the responsibility of their authors.

The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for any comments, opinions or statements made by third parties. In this respect, the FRP is not obliged to monitor the views expressed by such third parties who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their own responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference are the result of the discussions that took place during the conference organised for this purpose at the Foundation and are the sole responsibility of its authors.

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