26 February 2022
Manuel Cruz Rodríguez (born 1 January 1951) is a Spanish philosopher and politician who served as the 60th President of the Senate from May to December 2019. Prior to this, between 2016 and 2019, Cruz served as member of the Congress of Deputies in representation of Barcelona. He is a member of the Socialists’ Party of Catalonia.
Democracy is not just a set of formal procedures, it is much more than voting. And we must understand it as a kind of tailor-made suit that has to be constantly adjusted to a body.
This is what Manuel Cruz raised yesterday at the Federalistes d’Esquerres federalist gathering held at ALIBRI LLIBRERIA, which revolved around his latest book ‘Democracy, the last utopia’ where he explained why democracies offer emancipatory opportunities to materialize values such as the pact, cooperation and dialogue, those linked to federalism.
Manuel Cruz pointed out that the success of a democracy is measured by the extent to which it is capable of resolving tensions and creating a framework for coexistence in which all sectors have a place. That it is normal for tensions to arise with other sectors when a new claim is made, but that the democratic system must be capable of resolving them.
He also stressed that it is a problem for democracy that it feeds more on tension than on agreement. Or that it comes to be considered that with the agreement there is nothing to gain because the objective is for someone to be defeated.
Regarding the political situation in Catalonia, he pointed out the contradiction that the independence vote represents despite the fact that during several legislatures they have not been able to carry out their promises and that the majority has assumed that they will not come true. And he pointed out the need for the future to once again be that place where we materialize our dreams.
Regarding freedom, he reflected on the importance of considering that freedom is not only the lack of prohibition.
It is also the possibility of developing one’s own projects and that for this certain material conditions are needed because in a situation of extreme hardship there is no freedom. He also delved into the relationship between democracy and capitalism and how the pandemic has made much more evident the need for strong public policies that guarantee redistribution because precisely having the material means is something that guarantees freedom.
In the following link you can see the complete talk on our YouTube channel:
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