What the US Should Learn from Spain
At the beginning of the pandemic in Spain, the Spanish government made some serious blunders. Just days before lockdown, hundreds of thousands of people packed the streets of Madrid for the Women’s March while COVID-19 lurked undetected and senior government officials downplayed the risks. The Spanish government mirrored the rhetoric of many other national leaders. “The virus is not in Spain nor is it being transmitted,” said Fernando Simon, Spain’s leading health professional, in February. He could not have been more wrong.
On March 14th, Spanish President Pedro Sanchez issued a state of alarm, placing Spaniards under one of the strictest lockdown regimes in the world. Any movement besides essential trips (groceries, pharmacy, etc) was forbidden. Going for a walk? Against the law. Want to go to the second-nearest grocery store? Don’t even think about it.
Spaniards lived this life for one and a half months. In that time, Spain experienced one virtual protest against the government, not for doing too much to stop the virus, but for doing too little. Some opposition leaders challenged death tolls and case counts, not for being exaggerated, but under-counted. Partisan disputes did arise during the crisis, many stemming from a disputed report by the Guardia Civil criticizing the government, but the response itself remained fairly non-partisan. The US should learn from this non-partisanship in operating in a disaster, or its system’s reputation abroad could be damaged in a time when the world needs it most.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States essentially began as a partisan dispute. In late January, Donald Trump banned travel to and from China, immediately receiving criticism from his Democratic opponent Joe Biden, pointing to Trump’s xenophobic motives. In late February, Donald Trump called pandemic fears a “hoax” created by Democrats and established media. Republicans fell in line behind Trump’s wild theories and rhetoric, and Democrats While Spanish politicians downplayed COVID-19 concerns, the problem itself remained non-partisan.
When the time came to lock down, Spain shed most partisanship, granting sweeping emergency powers to their socialist president, Pedro Sanchez. Not only did his coalition approve of these powers, but the conservative People’s Party, liberal Ciudadanos, and right-wing Vox approved these measures as well. 2 weeks later, the same universal coalition approved an extension of the measures. In the New World, Trump pushed to “LIBERATE” states under lockdown, constitutionally unable to issue one himself. Conservative media lambasted Democratic governors for their lockdown measures, mocked those who don a mask, and congratulated those violating stay-at-home measures.
The speed at which most influential actors in US politics and media forgot about the pandemic, even as multiple states experience their highest daily counts, goes to show how this pandemic largely served as a partisan dispute. Spain still keeps daily press briefings, even as deaths fall to nearly zero and cases remain in the triple digits. Meanwhile, even as Dr. Anthony Fauci warns of a second wave (probably a bad term given we are still experiencing the first wave), Donald Trump continues to ignore the ongoing pandemic. The biggest mention of COVID-19 from Trump has been the waiver necessary to sign to attend his in person, non-social distancing rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
To those concerned with America’s standing in the world, these differences should bring concern. Both countries experience partisan politics. Spain has endured four elections in four years due to an inability for political parties to cooperate. This serves as the greatest criticism to liberal democracy. As the Chinese authoritarian system gains traction abroad, America should use this opportunity to show the world how each system reacts to disaster. One system covers up information, misleading the world and persecuting those who seek to reveal the truth. The other should react with transparency and efficiency, putting partisan bickering aside to fight this virus.
Sadly, even as we’ve seen such reaction from other countries, we have yet to experience such in the United States. So far, we’ve seen many similar, although watered down, tactics from the US government: intimidating professionals, skewing numbers, and spreading disinformation. While not nearly on the same level of China (and constitutionally unable to arrive at such level, thanks to our liberal democracy), such tactics should alarm those looking to justify our system of governance to the world. Many could reach the false equivalency between the two systems.
After their disastrous response, China is partaking in a global saving-face, shipping millions of masks and other equipment to distract the international community from its failures. As governments and citizens see these efforts, they may compare them to a country too wrapped up in partisanship to react effectively domestically, much less internationally. For this reason, our ability to argue liberal democracy’s advantages to authoritarianism just became harder. It’s up to the US to change that.
