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Spain on Edge: Inside a Nation Deeply Polarized

Spain on Edge: Inside a Nation Deeply Polarized

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 This week we take a deep dive into Spain's growing political and social polarization, exploring reasons for widespread discomfort since the 2023 general election, corruption scandals, the rise of Vox, regional independence movements, and the historical roots that are fuelling distrust and division. As always, we offer intentions and prayers to hold — calling for tolerance, truthfulness from political actors, fair and transparent institutions, compassionate social discourse, and responsible media, among other suggested areas for attention. Prayers and intentions start at 17 minutes 35 seconds. Suggested Intention Focus for this week This week, as political and social polarisation in Spain intensifies to a point rarely seen since the time of the country’s Civil War of the 1930’s, we suggest holding as our main intention: We will that the hearts and minds of all Spaniards will be moved to ease the bitter, emotionally charged differences that are fuelling angry dialogue, protest and the risk of civil disobedience in Spain. Please join us in holding this. Mentioned in this episode: Our episode on polarisation in society, ‘Unmasking the Global Authenticity Crisis,’ can be heard at https://www.heartfulimpact.com/e/unmasking-the-global-authenticity-crisis/. Chapter markers: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:40 The Polarization of Spain 00:05:26 Historical Context 00:12:26 Regional Identities and Their Impact 00:17:35 Intentions for Healing Sources referenced in this episode: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2020/07/30/who-are-vox-and-who-are-their-voters/ https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2023/08/14/why-spains-democratic-transition-continues-to-shape-its-politics/ https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/national-disaster-management-system/spain_en https://ecipe.org/blog/spain-split-and-talk-quantifying-regional-independence/ https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3610&context=hon_thesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_independence_movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_and_regional_identity_in_Spain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vox_(political_party) https://encompass-europe.com/comment/political-trust-in-the-european-social-survey https://feps-europe.eu/left-contemporary-spain/ https://freedomhouse.org/country/spain/freedom-world/2024 https://freedomhouse.org/country/spain/freedom-world/2025 https://latinoamerica21.com/en/spain-a-fragile-minority-government-increases-polarization/ https://politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/why-spanish-politics-is-becoming-more-polarised/ https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_15184_1c67c371b608da01bfc03442e4cbed23.pdf https://research.library.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1072&context=international_senior https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2025/spain https://scholarworks.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=intl-std-theses https://theconversation.com/how-spains-voters-and-political-systems-have-kept-the-far-right-out-of-power-for-now-249743 https://theconversation.com/passion-and-pain-why-secessionist-movements-rarely-succeed-85097 https://theloop.ecpr.eu/spains-electoral-maze-winners-trends-and-the-road-ahead/ https://warontherocks.com/2017/10/what-political-science-tells-us-about-the-risk-of-civil-war-in-spain/ https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/trust-in-government-by-country https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/8/tens-of-thousands-take-part-in-anti-government-protest-in-madrid https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/books/demographic-shifts-in-spain-call-for-reinvigorated-reforms/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46422036 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47937031 https://www.centracs.es/revista/article/download/117/159 https://www.centracs.es/revista/article/download/117/159 https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84S00555R000200020003-7.pdf https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/07/26/pedro-sanchez-is-fighting-for-his-political-life https://www.edelman.com/trust/2025/trust-barometer https://www.eppgroup.eu/what-we-do/with-eu-countries/spain/catalan-independence-is-a-threat https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2025/767186/EPRS_IDA(2025)767186_EN.pdf https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/divided-spain/ https://www.gwi-boell.de/en/2020/06/26/rise-vox https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/activism-solidarity/navigating-the-catalan-crisis-independence-in-context/ https://www.kew.org.pl/en/2024/11/02/post-election-spain-persistent-polarization-and-political-turmoil/ https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/presidente/news/Paginas/2025/20250728-political-year-assessment.aspx https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/government-at-a-glance-2025-country-notes_da3361e1-en/spain_57f4ebd0-en.html https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/commentaries/...
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