Podcast Summary: Hoy por Hoy – La mirada | Ignacio Peyró: "Carles, has hecho el primo"

Host: Àngels Barceló
Guest Columnist: Ignacio Peyró
Date: 24 October 2025
Language: Spanish
Duration of Segment: ~2 minutes

Episode Overview

This episode features Ignacio Peyró’s segment "La mirada", a reflective editorial piece that analyzes the political landscape surrounding Carles Puigdemont and his position in Belgian exile after recent Spanish electoral negotiations. Peyró draws literary and cultural parallels to Belgium and delivers a biting commentary on recent political maneuvers involving Pedro Sánchez, Junts per Catalunya, and broader Catalan aspirations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Belgium as a Symbol: Complexity and Distance

• Literary and Cultural References:
  Peyró uses "La pena de Bélgica" (The Sorrow of Belgium), Jacques Brel’s ambiguous songs about his homeland, and the restless wanderings of Belgian icons like Tintín, Magritte, and Folon to paint Belgium as a place people are eager to leave, both physically and spiritually.
  • “Si algo unido a flamencos y balones es la voluntad de poner tierra de por medio.” [00:13]
    (If there’s something that unites Flemings and Walloons, it’s the desire to put distance between themselves and their land.)

2. Puigdemont’s Exile: More Rooted in Belgium than the Belgians

• Puigdemont’s Prolonged Stay:
  Peyró quips that nobody has stayed in Belgium as long as Puigdemont, transforming his exile into a painful reality.
  • “En otras palabras, nadie se ha quedado más en Bélgica que Carles Puigdemont. Y ahí ha de seguir, despertando lentamente a una realidad dolorosí.” [00:31]

3. Political Miscalculation: “Carles, has hecho el primo”

• Betrayal by Sánchez:
  Peyró claims Sánchez outmaneuvered Puigdemont, converting Junts' seven seats into “gold,” but ultimately outpromised and outplayed him.

  • “Sánchez te ha tomado el pelo de modo apoteósico.” [00:40]
  • “Creíste tener el poder. Yo te invisto, Pedro, pero te saco las mantecas. Pedro puso cara de bueno y prometió todo lo que quiso a sabiendas de que la materialización de esas promesas... no dependía de él.” [00:47]

• Empty Handed After Negotiations:
  Junts faces a “sack emptied” by hollow promises: “Junts está con el saco vacío y todas sus amenazas son pellizcos de monja.” [01:06]

4. Strategic Deadlock and the Rise of Rival Catalan Forces

• Junts’ Weak Position & Alianza Catalana’s Advance:
  Junts cannot feasibly align with Vox and PP to topple Sánchez, and the rival Alianza Catalana has been quicker to capitalize on the situation.
  • “Puigdemont por fin se ha dado cuenta de que ha hecho el primo. Pero ya es estéril porque Alianza Catalana se dio cuenta mucho antes y hace tiempo que se lo viene cobrando.” [01:12]

5. The Symbolic Defeat in Waterloo

• Waterloo as a Metaphor:
  Peyró closes by alluding to Waterloo, site of Napoleon’s defeat (and Puigdemont’s now infamous residence), as the ultimate setting for Catalan setbacks.
  • “Puigdemont entiende ahora que aquella lúgubre llanura de Waterloo que cantó Víctor Hugo es un lugar ideal para derrotas.” [01:23]
    (Puigdemont now understands that the gloomy plain of Waterloo that Victor Hugo wrote about is an ideal place for defeats.)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Belgium’s character:

  “Si algo unido a flamencos y balones es la voluntad de poner tierra de por medio.”
  (If there’s something that unites Flemings and Walloons, it’s the desire to put distance between themselves and their land.)
  — Ignacio Peyró [00:13]

• On Puigdemont’s exile:

  “Nadie se ha quedado más en Bélgica que Carles Puigdemont. Y ahí ha de seguir, despertando lentamente a una realidad dolorosí.”
  — Ignacio Peyró [00:31]

• On Sánchez and the negotiation:

  “Creíste tener el poder. Yo te invisto, Pedro, pero te saco las mantecas. Pedro puso cara de bueno y prometió todo lo que quiso a sabiendas de que la materialización de esas promesas... no dependía de él.”
  — Ignacio Peyró [00:47]

• On Junts’ political dead end:

  “Junts está con el saco vacío y todas sus amenazas son pellizcos de monja.”
  — Ignacio Peyró [01:06]

• On Waterloo as a fate for Puigdemont:

  “Aquella lúgubre llanura de Waterloo que cantó Víctor Hugo es un lugar ideal para derrotas.”
  — Ignacio Peyró [01:23]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:08-00:30: Literary/cultural reflections on Belgium and exile
• 00:31-00:40: Puigdemont’s unique status in Belgium
• 00:41-01:00: Political negotiation missteps and Sánchez’s moves
• 01:01-01:15: Junts’ perceived impotence, rival parties
• 01:16-01:30: Metaphor of Waterloo as the setting for Puigdemont’s defeat

Tone and Style

Ignacio Peyró delivers a sharp, witty, and literary critique, blending political analysis with cultural references and a touch of irony. The message is clear: Puigdemont, overplaying his hand, has become a tragic figure marooned in Belgium, outmaneuvered in the shifting landscape of Spanish politics.