Murky Waters - Jaume Matas and Mallorcan society

The former president of the Balearics, Jaume Matas, is finally up before the beak to answer allegations related to public money that seemingly went AWOL, or into someone's pockets, during the project to build the Palma Arena velodrome. The spend on the project, which was undertaken during Matas's second period as president, was some 100 million euros, 70 million more than was originally budgeted for. Matas is in court with his wife, his brother-in-law and the former head of the GESA-Endesa energy company; all of them facing charges.

While the Unió Mallorquina cases have tended to dominate the corruption column inches, the Matas case is arguably the most serious, given that it involves a former president. Matas was also a one-time member of the national government, that of José María Aznar. The charges against Matas are complex, and I have no intention of even beginning to relate them, but some of them have been delicious in their reporting, as with the inventory of luxury items in his so-called "palacete" in Palma (13 November, 2009: Finding Treasure In The Dark).

The proceedings got under way on Tuesday, only for there to be an immediate adjournment as the prosecution had introduced new evidence from phone taps, something which UK readers might find interesting; Matas's lawyer is arguing against its being submissible. But before appearing in court, Matas had to run the gauntlet of the media and demonstrators. One of the odder aspects of the court appearance is that it, together with others involving prominent politicians, has made a celebrity of a security guard who accompanies the accused. This is José Nieto, aka "Primo", a bull of a bloke who is a kick-boxing champion. Not only has he been interviewed by the press, he was also depicted - in cartoon format - on a demonstrator's placard with the words "give it to him, Primo". He has become the star of the show.

While much of the reporting will concentrate on the technicalities of the case and on the individuals, there is an altogether more fundamental issue that needs to be addressed - why does it happen? Corruption, that is, or the circumstances that give rise to alleged corruption. The facile answer is that all politicians are corrupt, or something like that. An "expert" reckoned the other day that corruption was some sort of psychiatric condition. Maybe it is. But why have the Balearics, and Mallorca most obviously, come to assume the position of title-holder in the Spanish corruption league? Other parts of the country are similarly blighted, Valencia for example, but it is important to go behind the cases and understand the dynamics that foment the island's corruption.

When Matas first came into the regional government as economics minister in 1993, he was asked about corruption. His response was to quote the Spanish philosopher José Luis Aranguren. "It is not politicians who are corrupt, but it is society that is sick." The words are highly relevant. Without knowing the quote (that appeared in "The Diario" on 21 March), I said as much myself some weeks ago - "All power may well indeed corrupt, and inappropriate behaviour by politicians may indeed be taken as a signal to others in local society to misbehave, but I would argue that it is this society that begets the politics of the island, not the other way round" (2 March: The Scream). I have also said that the obvious insularity of Mallorca and its networks and families can be highly influential in creating those circumstances in which corruption can occur.

The logic of this, and of Matas's quote, is troubling, as it can be interpreted as making politicians charged with corruption appear to be victims of society. This would be insulting to politicians who act honourably, but the logic does need to be taken account of as what it implies is that Mallorcan politics and democracy cannot be practised in a correct way. Ever. Without a change in the culture of society, products of which are the local politicians.

In the reporting that does go behind the case, the emphasis has tended to focus on the individuals. Character assassination has become flavour of the month. It is easy to do this, and while the corrupt cannot expect a sympathetic hearing, the concentration on people's flaws cannot be complete or entirely comprehensible without an analysis of the society that brings them about. To do so is to enter murky waters, but it is something that needs to be done.


QUIZ:
Yesterday - Civil Twilight, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID5HI0jAyFY.

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.