Pedro Sánchez: "Democracy was a great collective achievement, a conquest that we risked losing, but which we defended tooth and nail"

Lower House of Parliament, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the presentation of the series (Pool Moncloa / Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has spoken at the presentation of the series 'Anatomía de un instante' (The Anatomy of a Moment), based on the book of the same name by Javier Cercas, about the attempted coup d'état that took place on 23 February 1981.

Pedro Sánchez pointed out that both the book and the series "fulfil an essential function, and that is to help our young people understand that democracy in Spain was not an accident or a historical automatism, but a great collective achievement; a conquest that we risked losing, but which we defended tooth and nail".

And in that sense, this work is "a bridge between generations: a way of conveying that the freedom we take for granted today, that many young people take for granted, cost bravery, agreements, and a great deal of political courage".

Group photo with the President of the Government of Spain and the team from the series 'Anatomy of a Moment' | Pool Moncloa / Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The presentation took place in the Lower House of Parliament, "in the symbolic heart of Spanish democracy," which-as the president recalled-"still bears, as a scar and as a lesson, the bullet holes left by the gunfire of that 23 February, 1981, when all of Spain held its breath".

A country that "was emerging from dictatorship, enjoying new rights and freedoms, fully aware of what was at stake," and that also "stood tall that night". "Without those people," President Sánchez stressed, "none of what happened afterwards would have been possible. Because democracy is not sustained solely by institutions; it is sustained by the commitment of its citizens". "Democracy can be lost in a moment, as Javier Cercas tells us, but it is built and preserved day by day, by everyone".

"Today, seeing what is happening in the world and in our societies," Pedro Sánchez continued, "I believe that more than ever we still need that courage, because democracy is not a state that is permanently conquered, it is a privilege that we must defend every day". And it must be defended "from unfounded nostalgia, economic interests and attacks that are changing their form: today they are disinformation campaigns and also abuses of power", he added.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, talks with the team from the series 'Anatomy of a Moment' | Pool Moncloa / Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

Because "the threat is still there, but so too-and this is what I would like to emphasise-is our firm desire to neutralise it, to defend popular sovereignty and democracy against those who believe they have the prerogative to control or silence it".

The head of the Executive concluded by stating that "this series reminds us that there was a moment in which Spain chose to move forward and, therefore, never to go backwards. A moment when, faced with so much noise and fear, democracy triumphed".

Non official translation