Podcast Summary: Carne Cruda #1604

Episode Title: "Julio Iglesias y las otras casas del terror"
Date: January 19, 2026
Host: La República Independiente
Duration: ~65 min

Overview

This powerful and investigative episode of Carne Cruda delves into the allegations of sexual and labor abuse against internationally renowned Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, focusing on testimonies from women who worked as domestic employees in his homes in Punta Cana and the Bahamas. The episode expands the lens, exposing the broader exploitative systems under which migrant women work as domestic staff, and analyzes why such abuse often remains unseen, unpunished, and normalized. Through testimonies, expert commentary, and journalistic investigation, the show explores issues of power, racism, colonialism, and the challenges faced by women seeking justice against powerful men.

Main Discussion & Key Points

1. Introduction and Context

• Host addresses a recent tragic train accident in Córdoba, offering condolences before pivoting to the scheduled program topic.
• Central question raised: Why are abuses like sexual assault, labor exploitation, and systemic racism so pervasive and normalized in domestic work, especially for migrant women?
• The Julio Iglesias case is presented as a microcosm of a larger, deeply ingrained societal and structural abuse.

"Es la tiranía más ancestral. El abuso de poder de un hombre millonario sobre mujeres pobres. [...] ¿Por qué socialmente aceptamos que las que limpian o cuidan cobren, con perdón, una mierda?" (Presentadora, 01:18)

2. Testimonies: The Casas del Terror

• First-person testimonies (dramatized for anonymity) from two former domestic workers ("Laura" and "Rebeca") describe grave sexual assaults, humiliations, threats, and a climate of absolute control.
• Examples of abuse:
  • Forced medical exams, sexual propositions, physical aggression, and isolation.
  • Denigrating working conditions: paid 350 euros/month for 24/7 availability, forbidden from leaving or making social connections.
  • Pervasive fear due to Iglesias’ social power and impunity.

Notable Quotes:

• "Me cogía los senos una vez. Me agarró durísimo así por la cabeza y me metió la lengua... para mí eso fue muy, muy, muy, muy doloroso." (Testigo, 06:29)
• "Él siempre si tú hablas mal de mí, nadie te va a creer, porque él era Julio Iglesia y tú eras Don Nadie." (Testigo, 08:41)

3. Journalistic Investigation

• Investigative team from eldiario.es and Univisión spent three years corroborating the victims’ accounts.
• The case “Julio Iglesias” is seen as a watershed moment for visibility and potential justice for other vulnerable women.

Insights:

• "Espero realmente que Rebeca y Laura sean un ejemplo para muchas mujeres de cómo encontrar una vía de justicia." (Elena Cabrera, 10:25)
• The reporters emphasize the extraordinary courage required to speak out against such a powerful figure (13:51).

4. The Structures of Abuse and Impunity

• Discussion of why and how such abuses continue:
  • Extreme power imbalance: Wealth, whiteness, celebrity, legal resources versus poverty, race, and migrant status.
  • Social acceptance: Domestic work is undervalued, underregulated, and shrouded in privacy, shielding perpetrators.
  • Victim-blaming and disbelief: Even with strong evidence, women face skepticism and backlash—sometimes from other women in the media and politics.

Notable Quotes:

• "La casa tenía algunas reglas que había que respetar... Entre esas normas estaba la de no hablar entre ellas, no establecer relaciones de amistad, no hablar con otros empleados." (Elena Cabrera, 15:51)
• "Un hombre que se creía muy impune, claramente... pensaba que esto era imposible que saliera nunca a la luz." (Ana Requena, 18:01)
• "Dice que nunca va a poner en duda a este. Con lo cual lo que estás diciendo da igual lo que suceda... que quien tiene la presunción de credibilidad todo el rato... es él." (Ana Requena sobre Ayuso, 25:13)

5. Legal and Social Responses

• Spanish legal system's jurisdiction explained: Iglesias’ Spanish nationality and the gravity of the alleged crimes allow Spanish courts to take up the case, despite the events occurring abroad.
• The case seeks not only individual justice, but also to set legal precedent against systemic racism, colonialism, and machismo in domestic work.

Key Points:

• "Había una necesidad de personas para las casas, para las mansiones de Julio Iglesias... la forma en la que se buscaban... podría ser constitutiva de delitos de trata." (Gema Fernández, 30:35)
• "Crear precedentes legales que reconozcan el daño estructural causado por el racismo, el colonialismo y el machismo..." (Presentadora, 35:23)

6. Expanding the Lens: The Systemic Problem

• Testimonies from other domestic workers in Spain: Wage theft, sexual harassment, racism, and the precarity of being undocumented.
• Data: 500,000+ domestic workers in Spain; 90% are women, half migrants; high rates of sexual harassment and violence reported.
• Legal advances (e.g., ratification of ILO Convention 189) are highlighted, but implementation remains inadequate.

Notable Case Examples:

• "Una compañera que le faltaba un mes para presentar la documentación... el empleador la viola... Dormía con la puerta, con una silla para sujetar..." (Edith Espínola, 43:04)
• "Si una mujer no tiene papeles, bueno... no puede denunciar un abuso." (Presentadora, 44:16)

7. Intersectionality & Feminism

• Expert insight: The exploitation is rooted at the crossroads of gender, race, class, and migratory status.
• Reflection on the need for “feminismo decolonial” (decolonial feminism) that truly centers the realities and voices of racialized, migrant, and working-class women.

Notable Quotes:

• "Lo que hace un cantante millonario es ir a República Dominicana a abusar de su territorio y de los cuerpos de las mujeres como si fueran parte de sus presas." (Luciana Pequer, 46:34)
• "Lo que hay que hacer también es entender que hay desigualdades estructurales en donde es más difícil denunciar, por ejemplo en Dominicana..." (Luciana Pequer, 62:02)

8. Organizing and Resistance

• Voices from activists and cooperatives (La Comala): Organizing for collective protection, empowerment, mutual support, and policy change.
• Emphasis on building safe spaces, networks, and demanding institutional response and protection.

"La denuncia es muy importante, pero si no te sientes segura, acércate a nosotras, te vamos a acompañar." (Edith Espínola, 52:04)

9. International and Historical Perspective

• Recognition that this is a global pattern of abuse by powerful men, with parallels cited: Motown’s Smokey Robinson, actor Rob Lowe, Strauss-Kahn, etc.
• The historical struggle of women and particularly of Black, brown, and migrant women against systemic violence and invisibility (reference to the Mirabal sisters of Dominican Republic).

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On the magnitude of everyday abuse and its normalization:
  “Nos han educado a silenciar, a mirar para otro lado, a decir ‘eso no va conmigo’... pero nos va a todas, nos toca a todas.” (Rough paraphrase, thematic thread)
• On feminism and privilege:
  “El feminismo será decolonial o no será.” (Presentadora, 01:57)
• On complicity and change:
  “La figura de Julio Iglesias se ha roto, se ha hecho añicos, y nos obliga a preguntarnos qué toleramos y por qué.” (Presentadora, 29:56)
• On collective struggle:
  "No es solamente por un mes, no es solamente un día. Nosotras trabajamos todos los días para luchar, exigir los derechos que nos merecemos como mujeres..." (Edith Espínola, 64:01)

Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00-01:43 | Accidente de tren - mención especial y transición a tema central | | 01:44-06:29 | Editorial sobre poder, abuso y trabajo doméstico racializado | | 06:29-09:04 | Testimonios estremecedores de las denunciantes | | 09:04-15:34 | Investigación periodística y contexto de denuncias | | 15:51-20:46 | Dinámicas de control, miedo y el poder de Julio Iglesias | | 20:46-27:01 | Victimización secundaria, escepticismo social y reacciones mediáticas | | 30:23-35:53 | Dimensión legal: agresión sexual, trata, y jurisdicción | | 35:53-44:16 | Debate sobre condiciones de las trabajadoras del hogar, racismo, estrategias de supervivencia | | 45:05-54:59 | Voces de activistas, periodistas y escritoras sobre la violencia estructural y caminos hacia la justicia | | 54:59-60:54 | Sobre el trabajo de cuidados, cárcel laboral y redes de apoyo | | 62:02-65:25 | Feminismos, jerarquía de víctimas, racismo y construcción colectiva |

Final Reflections

This episode delivers a compelling, multi-layered examination of abuse and impunity through both the high-profile lens of Julio Iglesias and the everyday experiences of women in domestic work. The show repeatedly stresses that such violence is not anomalous but systemic—demanding both legal redress and a deeper reckoning with racism, colonialism, classism, and patriarchy embedded in labor structures and social attitudes.

Closing message:
"Aquí en Carne Cruda no nos vamos a cansar de denunciar a los violentos, a los abusadores, a los victimarios, a los poderosos y también a las contradicciones de la sociedad que lo sostiene." (Presentadora, 65:27)

Recommended listening for:

• Anyone interested in gender justice, labor rights, anti-racism, or how celebrity, power, and systemic inequality interact.
• Listeners seeking survivor-centered, intersectional reporting and analysis on gender violence.