The former president of Chile, Ricardo Lagos, the first left-wing president to come to power after the Pinochet dictatorship, coined a phrase in 2011 that could be valid for any democracy, and even more so for the Spanish one these days: “Let the institutions work”. A socialist, but above all a democrat, he has been an advocate of respect for the independence of the powers of the state and of preventing political pressures - direct or indirect - from interfering, for example, in judicial processes.
Why is it important for institutions to work? The answer seems simple. If institutions cease to function and are corrupted by political power, the democratic system begins to erode and “bad practices” become the norm. The red lines and the bar change and unethical behaviour and practices, which may even border on the illegal, become normalised.
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