Let's put it down in black in white: Catalonia moves to Phase 3 this Thursday, on June 21st the state of alarm which Pedro Sánchez imposed on March 14th will be lifted, the borders will be opened the following day for the arrival of European tourism and residents will be able to travel freely throughout Spain. This is what is propagandistically called "the new normality." The Monclovite language to ward off ghosts and criticism. But make no mistake, the new normality is nothing more than a generous euphemism to make it clear that we will not be in a situation of normality and yet to avoid saying that, in reality, what this new stage is closest to is none other than a false normality. But of course, to say that Spain is entering a false normality sounds harsh and words must be found to accompany our landing in the difficult situation that is now beginning.
Because labeling the current situation a new normality is like a bad joke and politicians should be careful with the use of this term, as they may come across legions of citizens who are very angry with the picture they see before them. Could it be because those politicians have felt the impact less than other mortals and their incomes have suffered far less? What kind of normality will be spoken about to the more than 700,000 workers affected by ERTO furlough schemes in Catalonia who don't know if they will get their jobs back or go directly onto the unemployment lines? Not to mention the tens or hundreds of thousands of workers who are still waiting to even receive that benefit. And the small businesses that aren’t reopening, in part because of the pandemic, but also because of the tax pressure that has left them exposed? And there are also the self-employed, who have been abusively persecuted so that they will deposit some money in the ruined public coffers of the Kingdom of Spain...
The only normality I see is that of presenting income tax returns, which started as scheduled on April 1st and will end on June 30th. Without any extension and with the greatest normality in the world. Whether there is a health emergency or not; with the deaths still to be counted, in a scenario of catastrophic management by the Spanish health ministry, which has not updated the total number of coronavirus deaths in Spain for the last 11 days - 11 days! The needle is stuck on 27,136 fatalities. With enormous difficulties for taxpayers in gathering their documentation and carrying out the bureaucratic transactions required, since in spite of being essential services from the first day, many have actually only recovered their usual operation as the health restrictions have been lifted. Yet all that matters is to maintain the date for the visit to the Tax Department.
There are two slogans in Spain that have ceased to have any validity: "Justice is equal for all" and "We are all the Treasury". They sound great in official propaganda, or TV commercials, but when it comes to the truth, they are only applicable to a few.