Podcast Summary

Podcast: Hoy por Hoy
Host: SER Podcast (Àngels Barceló)
Episode Section: La mirada | Maruja Torres: "El Partido Popular tiene un problema, aparte de con la verdad, con la espalda"
Date: November 19, 2025

Overview

This “La mirada” segment features a sharply critical commentary by Maruja Torres, focusing on the Partido Popular (PP), Spain’s main conservative party. Using irony and vivid metaphor, Torres examines how the PP handles truth, responsibility, and current political alliances, referencing recent events to highlight perceived moral and political failings.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Irony: The PP's Twin Problems

• Torres launches with a biting remark:
  “El Partido Popular tiene un problema, aparte de con la verdad, con la espalda.”
  [00:09]
  • She implies that beyond struggling with honesty, the PP also has issues “with the back,” playing on the physical and metaphorical meanings.

2. Valencia Incident – The Weight of Responsibility (or Lack Thereof)

• Reference to the acting President of the Generalitat de Valencia
  • Torres notes the President’s congressional admission:

    “…declaró ante la Comisión del Congreso que posiblemente haya guardado en la mochila el móvil, ese artilugio del que en el día de la tragedia dependían vidas y haciendas de su comunidad…”
    [00:15]

  • She suggests the President “threw” this responsibility into his backpack—unconcerned for his citizens’ welfare—criticizing political evasion with dark humor.

3. Alpedrete Case – Downplaying Gender Violence

• Critique of the PP mayor:
  • The mayor refused to label a femicide as domestic violence, instead excusing the perpetrator’s actions with supposed back pain:

    “…se negaba a calificar de violencia doméstica el asesinato de una mujer a manos de su marido. Que el tipo se encontraba muy mal, Sí, muy mal de la espalda. 50 puñaladas le asestó el esposo a su víctima, casi dos por cada vértebra.”
    [00:35]

  • Torres sardonically links the number of stab wounds to spinal vertebrae, amplifying the horror and absurdity of the minimizing rhetoric.

4. Cynicism Toward Apologies and Rhetoric

• On hollow apologies:
  • She mocks the standard political excuse:

    “Por si alguien me ha interpretado mal. Qué va, hombre, no se preocupe, que lo hemos interpretado correctamente.”
    [01:10]

  • Torres asserts that the public did, in fact, understand—despite attempts to recast or soften the original statement.

5. PP, Vox, and the Problem with Words

• On alliances and narratives:
  • Torres critiques PP’s collaboration with the far-right Vox, suggesting a crisis of political identity:

    “Andan los del PP desde que se hicieron amiguitos de su camada extendida color verde vómito, muy ajetreados con las palabras, pues quieren hacer ver que no son lo mismo que los otros mientras siguen convenciendo a los otros de que son lo mismo que ellos.”
    [01:28]

  • She uses “camada extendida color verde vómito” to refer derisively to Vox, highlighting the confusion and hypocrisy in their alliance.

6. Imagery: Hunchbacks and the Alien Analogy

• Metaphor for political burden:

  “…la espalda se les va haciendo chepa y los otros se les van subiendo… reventando las espaldas al estilo del alien de la peli y mostrando la verdadera cara de unos y otros.”
  [01:47]

• She uses the image of hunchbacks and the famous Alien movie scene to illustrate how internal pressures and external influences are “bursting out” to reveal the true nature of the parties involved.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the PP’s core issue:

  “El Partido Popular tiene un problema, aparte de con la verdad, con la espalda.”
  [00:09]

• On the Alpedrete mayor excusing a killing:

  “…50 puñaladas le asestó el esposo a su víctima, casi dos por cada vértebra.”
  [00:40]

• On empty apologies:

  “Por si alguien me ha interpretado mal. Qué va, hombre, no se preocupe, que lo hemos interpretado correctamente.”
  [01:10]

• On uncomfortable alliances:

  “…camada extendida color verde vómito… muy ajetreados con las palabras, pues quieren hacer ver que no son lo mismo que los otros…”
  [01:28]

• The Alien analogy:

  “…reventando las espaldas al estilo del alien de la peli y mostrando la verdadera cara de unos y otros.”
  [01:50]

Tone & Style

• Language: Rich in sarcasm and vivid metaphor, blending humor and outrage.
• Style: Direct, incisive, and steeped in current political and social reference.
• Impact: Torres challenges the listener to reflect on the dangers of political evasion, linguistic manipulation, and the perils of “normalizing” the unacceptable.

Useful for Listeners

This segment is a sharp, opinionated snapshot of Spain’s political and social tensions as viewed through recurring failures of the Partido Popular, connecting recent controversial moments to larger trends of evasion, alliance, and responsibility. Maruja Torres uses wit and dark humor to denounce hypocrisy and call out the moral posture of mainstream conservatives and their far-right allies.