The coronavirus crisis: Lessons learned (III)

After so many days of quarantine, too many, and on the same day that the government that has led us by the hand into this chaotic situation - by ignoring the many warnings from international bodies on the subject; by not accumulating the necessary health and protection elements beforehand and in the precise quantities; by looking the other way to collective events when the pandemic was already widespread and at home, is proposing to extend the state of alarm for the fourth time - I have decided to write this third edition of the "Lessons Learned" from this very badly managed and worse directed crisis. A situation which, without throwing much of the blame on the wind, we may soon be leaving as a residual, although not yet completely defeated, and which, according to the technicians, may even reoccur.

I believe that with this chapter we will be able to consider a stage closed and to clearly reflect how much and how badly we have learned from a bad management on the part of the government and its lack of solution. This situation will have been overcome by the fact that we, the citizens, have been imprisoned without having taken the tests that were promised so many times or carried out the studies on contagion in areas that were so important for the lifting of the imprisonment.

I am afraid that, as was already announced everywhere and was clearly on the horizon, this health crisis, so tedious and costly in terms of effort and thousands of human lives, has been the cause and the introduction of another economic crisis much more enduring and with such serious consequences that it can easily surpass all the forecasts and milestones reached in the past in serious crisis situations and economic distress.

Without further ado, I will now refer to the lessons learned from this third phase and the first or initial ones of the economic crisis which, in only a month and a half, has plunged Spain into an incredible record in terms of state benefits for the unemployed.

• After two months, many things are still unknown or unfixed despite repeated promises of all kinds of actions and remedies; things as important as really quantifying the number of people affected and killed in this crisis; the definitive arrival of sufficient and really efficient PPE for health workers and other high-risk personnel; when will the so many times promised rapid tests and other population studies begin to be applied massively in order to have a clear, defined and real map of the extension of the infection in Spain; to really control the medical and prophylactic products of great demand and scarcity in the market and to correct in a more effective way the great deficiencies of health care in the Nursing Homes.
• It has not yet been possible or desired to explain the ineffectiveness of the Justice or the renunciation of its role in clarifying the number and true causes of deaths during the crisis, unlike other neighbouring countries, in order to have exact figures and not speculative or hidden for spurious reasons of the deaths throughout Spain. 
• To have allowed, and looking seriously at the other side, the authorities of the Government of Catalonia to continue seriously insulting Spain and that their actions were truffled of threats bordering on illegality during the whole process. 
• Creating chaos, confusion and, above all, distrust of the government's intentions with the appearance of so many edited Royal Decrees in which decisions, measures, appointments or the possibility of actions that are not relevant and that can even exceed the legality of the powers conferred on the government by the state of alarm.
• The odd contracts signed by the State for the acquisition of materials, with fake companies - without resorting to the usual suppliers or companies based or manufacturing in Spain - and at disproportionate prices or over costs, as well as in the means of transport, make us think of more than a possible type of corruption and prevarication taking advantage of the urgency and lack of control for their acquisition. These actions demand the obligatory judicial investigation as well as that of the Court of Auditors, and we shall see if they are carried out.
• An exaggerated propaganda campaign with the selective mask delivery on the occasion of the return to work of non-essential people; a campaign with little or no coordination with the Autonomous Regions, the low protection value of the masks (those with less protection capacity - only four hours long) as a self-propelled donation as if this had fulfilled the many promises made by the government in this respect, without taking into consideration that handing over this type of mask produces a call effect and a false sense of security, which in the long run will produce a greater number of infections.
• Forcing companies to provide means of protection to their employees when markets were undersupplied and the government itself was unable to acquire them in a manner, form and quality despite all its economic and foreign relations power.
• Once again, there has been great disorder, a lack of coordination, in the so-called de-escalation of work that has meant the reincorporation of personnel working in non-essential positions, with great doubts, corrections and even last-minute rectifications.
• Successive and constant legislative rectifications or editing of the application rules of the operating decrees with only a few hours to go into effect, which has sown chaos and confusion on many occasions.  
• A bad example to the Spanish people and a real gesture of lack of solidarity with the rest of the workers by keeping all the legislative state chambers and the Autonomous Regions closed; with only sporadic appearances of a few deputies or senators in a series of scarce, valued and marked plenary sessions; in spite of the fact that all of them are provided with a series of expensive telematic means at the beginning of their journey with which they could continue working.  
• After the euphoria of the applause from the balconies and the many and televised laughter, dances and songs in gratitude to those who protect us or work so that we lack nothing -a situation more than used by the government and other authorities to hide their mismanagement, appearing as if nothing serious were happening in Spain-, the Spanish government has decided to continue its work. 
• The harsh reality, the fears, the bad or evil people and the injustices began to surface in many corners. Even the doctors, nurses, those who so attentively care for us and our families, and even the cashiers and suppliers of the large food chains or simple neighbourhood supermarkets, began to be seen as stinking and as a possible source of contagion for those closest to us, and for that reason we make vows and exert great pressure to expel them from our communities and portals. These acts, which in addition to defining themselves and being publicly denounced, should be quickly prosecuted by the justice system because they involve much more serious crimes than simple lack of solidarity or great imbecility, not much was known about what happened to those poor and sad initiatives and their correction by the authorities.
• The government has changed the system and the method for counting casualties and infected several times, thus sowing confusion and playing hide and seek with reality both internally and externally and always in the way necessary for the resulting numbers to be most favorable to their interests by hiding the reality of the same. Similar situation and effect, but in the opposite sense the one carried out for the counting of the tests and contagion tests. In such a way and manner that the WHO and the OECD themselves have had to correct the data provided by Spain and the effect of so much deception is patentable and pathetic throughout the world.
• Perhaps it is the above point and other vulgarly falsified reports, as well as certain types of false medals self-placed by the government with fallacious and tortuous intentions, that have led to an unparalleled loss of international credibility. Spain has become, internationally, the example of how not to behave in this type of crisis situation and I firmly believe that this excess in false self-propaganda and almost disregard for the actions taken by others has been due to this.  
• The government, imprisoned and held captive by a mercenary specializing in electoral propaganda, does not cease to throw publicity lures to distract attention, to avoid assuming its many and serious responsibilities and to try to demonize the opposition as the most evil, perverse and unsupportive thing that can happen in these crises. 
• At this stage, the maintenance or even increase of the lack of control between the different members of the government, their erroneous decisions and the propagation of initiatives, restrictions or openings and their subsequent corrections by the government, even by ministers who have nothing to do with the sector in question, by the too many vice-presidencies or by the president himself. 
• One of the latest experiments in this area has been the attempt to re-launch the famous "Pacts of Moncloa", renamed later as "the reconstruction", aimed not to take Spain out of the difficult health situation in which we are stuck (due to the bad head of many), but from the serious economic crisis already affecting us and the need to adjust large and serious budgets to overcome it, despite the aid that is expected to arrive from beyond the Pyrenees; although the delay in adopting a common position and the difficulties in making it totally free do not bode well for a future free of European intervention and rescue, with the problems that this entails for the country being rescued.
• A solution and a situation which, once again, has run aground and become bogged down, since we have moved from an extremely urgent situation to the creation of a parliamentary committee about which little is known, and furthermore, we all know how poor and late the results of these committees are, if they ever are.    
• The executive is in a constant search for arguments and cover-ups to hide behind such a tangle and thus conceal what it really intends, a general and collegiate support and approval of a macro program-budget that will wipe out the many needs created by its mismanagement or commitments made, and at the same time dissolve the responsibilities, the faults and reproaches among all parties and, in the process, guarantee its continuity throughout the rest of the legislature. 
• In this crisis, Spain has been characterized by not copying the positive or good measures that other neighbouring countries have applied with positive or good results. Most European countries have long known about or implemented scheduled, limited and accompanied outings for children and the elderly, as well as the reopening of schools, workplaces and restaurants; in short, an almost normal return, which is far from being a reality in Spain, due to previous negligence, lack of foresight and the absence of any short- and medium-term plan. Everything is settled on the basis ideas, occurrences, inventions, patches, additions and corrections; most of them forced by public opinion; issues to be solved as if they were the result of a paternal, protective and generous government that "listens to its people". 
• The government seems to have taken the pleasure of finding itself in a state of permanent alarm by means of extending the deadline (this is the fourth one). A situation the government stretches to almost random levels, allowing it to do almost anything, and which they maintain since they don't want to take any more risks as they did at the beginning of the crisis, and at the same time, they try to cover up their original sins with respect to the expansion of the pandemic in Spain.  It cannot commit itself to opening its hand, because after almost 50 days of internment, it still does not have the promised studies on the level of contagion of the population and is not capable of achieving a biased plan. 
• However, in view of the fact that many surrounding countries are already returning to daily life, he has been forced not to remain the last in line and, although hesitantly, has drawn up a complicated plan (already in the name of its four phases, but strangely numbered from 0 to 3) which he has called "de-escalation", instead of descent, or as the path towards the "new normal"; words that are not very appropriate and that make your hair stand on end because of certain Bolivarian connotations.   
• The first consequences or benefits for the government in continuing with the state of alarm include taking advantage of the crisis and the social situation to delay or suppress having to account to the Spanish people at the behest of the opposition or worse situations such as suppressing the transparency portal and trying to restrict freedom of information, trying to introduce a single source of information, the official one, turning our democracy into a Chavist totalitarianism. 
• The prolongation in time of the state of alarm, the obvious legislative and other abuses that the government makes of it and the necessity to request the consequent extensions in the Congress, cause a decrease in the support it has received so far; thus, it has had to negotiate in extremis with the two most voluble, hinged and adaptable political parties in the parliamentary arch, the PNV and Ciudadanos. If it had not been for the hidden prebends or the needs of notoriety of one or the other, in this occasion, it could have been failed and we will see what happens if it tries for a fifth, as it is clearly his intention and will.  
• The cunning linkage of support or subsidies and the maintenance of the ERTEs to avoid further disruption in unemployment to the continuity of the state of alarm by the government, in addition to being amoral, does not cease to be a dirty manoeuvre to have the unconditional support of the parliamentary spectrum so as not to be taken as those guilty of a great social disaster, if they do not comply with their mandates. They are afraid this cannot be sustained and that the situation will get out of hand, and that is why they have to look for someone in the ranks of the opposition to whom they can put the blame for the disaster and all the responsibility.
• Furthermore, they blatantly lie because, despite the fact that there are other fully constitutional channels or legal means to achieve the same results without continuing the state of alarm, they refuse to accept them. These days, even the fateful phrase "either me or CHAOS" has been recalled.
• The situation is already widespread and the adoption of measures is intended to be a tragedy; even members of the government as well as the opposition learn from the press of new measures, changes or derogations from others previously adopted or agreed upon. It is almost laughable how many "errors", forced or not, appear in the Official State Gazette every day, as well as other types of intense and heavy appearances by members of the government in press conferences. This produces, in addition to a bad internal and external image, a feeling of bewilderment, lack of control and lack of coordination in a government without a head, which is constantly patching up and which feels more and more overwhelmed by the current situation as well as very distressed by the already mentioned serious economic crisis of even greater proportions than the last in 2008.  
• It is very dangerous to jeopardize the economic situation with numerous and not inexpensive measures of wage and social protection; in addition to leading to an immediate increase in the debt of more than 120% in a matter of weeks, a large increase in the deficit could mean a disincentive to work for many employees due to the understanding that living off the benefit or the gift, without officially working or, worse, doing so on the black market.  
• The chaos and confusion created by the government over the evaluation of the interrupted academic year, the disparities of criteria between the different Autonomous regions on how to apply the remaining subjects and the uncertain future planned by the government with the issue of the number of students who will be able to attend the next academic year; the many problems with obtaining and supplying sanitary and prophylactic products; the strange and unclear count of the victims; the progressive and slow return to daily economic and social life and the problems for mutual support between regions have been other elements that highlight certain errors and the cracks produced by the lack of consensus due to the excessive transfer of competencies that should remain in the hands of the State.  
• Other reprehensible actions of the government in a double crisis situation in which we find ourselves and which constitute a real offense to the "imprisoned" citizen -whose business or jobs are closed- have come from the official publication of the subsidies to the political parties and the important increase of high-level positions in several ministries with special relevance in those in the hands of the communists, not being necessary for them to be civil servants (as the law states). To top the indecency, subsidies granted to related media for millionaire amounts have been made public in the middle of the crisis as a way or system to pay for the services rendered by their more than drooling media campaigns where everything is cage, joy and good civic and social feeling. Their image and the lack of consideration for those in a difficult situation are serious and leave traces that are not easy to close or even forget.  
• In addition, the government is beginning to adopt a despotic and very dictatorial position, in search of its truth and in not allowing itself to be criticized for its many errors, failures or ineptitude. Proof of this was the "lapsus lingue" of the Chief of Staff of the Guardia Civil on the missions entrusted to the State Security Forces and Corps to pursue and "file" on the Internet those pages and messages that contain "hoaxes" or statements that are contrary to or ridicule the actions of the government. This fact was not initially recognised by the Minister of the Interior, but was later ratified and riveted by him and other ministers.    
• That same day, several ministers and senior officials spoke of the government's ability to pay unemployment and other types of subsidies to some 5.2 million people - added to another two and a half million people in ERTE and another large million self-employed people who have taken advantage of a special subsidy for cessation of activity, all retirees and people who have pensions assigned for physical problems or social need; This may mean that soon, and if things do not work out, each person working will have to cover the expenses of two people without activity. The sad thing about this situation is that by presenting it as heroic, instead of making it clear that this cannot be sustained except by a beastly increase in debt, and the Toledo Pact should already be in place to talk seriously about the sustainability of the pension system, otherwise, elsewhere, by force, will do it for us.  
• The very foundations on which our national economy rests have not been taken into account in order to encourage a return to activity as quickly as possible. The image given of a country in a state of emergency, one of the first in terms of deaths per million inhabitants and with the highest number of affected healthcare personnel in the world, and the lack of widespread reliable evidence - no matter how much the President of the Government presumes and insists - will cause our products, coasts, places of recreation and leisure, and beaches to fall to second or third place in the general ranking and to take a long time to recover worldwide.

In the short section on positive lessons, which also exist, the following can be highlighted: 

• The success of IFEMA's initiative; a large field hospital, built with the collaboration of many and even workers on a voluntary basis, which has more than covered its objective of relieving the hardships of the hospital network in Madrid and at the same time providing a high degree of confidence to citizens in the knowledge that there was a powerful second stage of reinforcement to the regular network that would prevent it from overflowing. Very good decision to "turn off the lights" and not to dismantle it definitively in a more than prudential time. 
• The good support of the Internet networks that have given very good coverage for many hours a day throughout the period. 
• Rapid adaptation to teleworking with almost no previous experience, sometimes with some delays or duplications, can lay the foundations for a future employment system. 
• The efficiency of the banking control system over card payment, at a time when for both health security reasons and for the convenience of establishments and individuals, the use of cards has increased exponentially, even for derisory amounts such as buying a loaf of bread or a low-cost medicine.  

As a final summary, it can be stated without fear of error that many of the defects highlighted in the two previous phases have been dragging on and even multiplying in this one. The egocentrism and a high degree of despotic totalitarianism of the government and its president at the head have given rise to situations that are truly Kafkaesque and undemocratic in nature. A lot of time has been lost in disquisitions, trickery and it has not been taken advantage of to draw up the necessary and efficient plans for an adequate descent and incorporation to normality; plans, which would have favoured that the economic crisis, in some way, would have diminished in scope, gravity and intensity.  

This has opened the way to a situation of economic crisis in which Spain is in one of the worst possible places in the world and will make it very difficult for all the aid and support received by the EU and the ECB to be free or not to be returned as many or all of us would like. To have reached such a large and unprecedented number of people in need of some kind of state subsidy is not to boast or to put on medals, but to start trembling and as a spur to do something positive already. 

To finish the review of all these lessons, I would like to emphasize that it is more than likely that if the state of alarm is not lifted at all, the protests by the citizens will be many and widespread (another reason for the government not to want to lift such a state); as well as the lawsuits filed before the courts will also be of a certain volume and importance. 

I am afraid that, as we close this chapter of lessons learned about the health crisis due to the coronavirus, which is already in the process of being solved or channelled, we will have to open a new chapter, on this economic crisis, which is a consequence of the previous one, and which will unfortunately also be the cause of many dramas of different scope.