Podcast Summary: Hoy por Hoy

Episode: La mirada | Maruja Torres: “Netanyahu y Trump alzan el pulgar para condenar a aniquilación, a esclavitud colonial, a miseria, enfermedad y hambruna”
Date: October 1, 2025
Host: Àngels Barceló
Guest Commentator: Maruja Torres
Podcast: SER Podcast

Episode Overview

This episode of "La mirada", presented by Maruja Torres within Hoy por Hoy, is a stark, critical reflection on the recent public display by Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump at the White House. Torres delivers a scathing analysis of their roles in ongoing global conflicts, particularly the situation in Palestine, highlighting the complicity and hypocrisy of world powers, the suffering of the Palestinian people, and the moral bankruptcy of international responses. The tone is somber, incisive, and laced with indignation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The White House Image: A Symbol of Power and Indifference

• Description of the Scene

  • Torres recounts witnessing "imágenes repugnantes" (repugnant images) of Netanyahu and Trump posing at the White House, both "sonreían y levantaban el pulgar en señal de triunfo" (smiling and giving a thumbs up in triumph) [00:08].
  • She frames them as "los dos personajes más aciagos de la actual humanidad, los más embusteros, corruptos...y eso es lo peor, los más poderosos" (the two darkest characters of current humanity, the most deceitful, corrupt...and worst of all, the most powerful).

• Weapons, Alliances, and Impunity

  • Torres asserts their power is reinforced by support from "los regímenes árabes, que no a sus pueblos" (Arab regimes, not their peoples), who are suppressed and cannot protest for Palestine as they'd like.
  • She criticizes Europe's weakness and occasional complicity, as well as material incentives: "Tienen riqueza, tienen las armas, tienen la determinación de obtener pingües ganancias" (They have wealth, they have weapons, the determination to obtain hefty profits).

2. The Thumbs Up: From Forgiveness to Cynicism

• Symbolic Gesture
  • Torres denounces their "pulgar alzado" (raised thumb), which perverts a gesture historically linked to forgiveness or mercy, now a cynical trope:

    “Tienen el cinismo de levantar el dedo pervirtiendo el sentido del gesto de perdón atribuido a los emperadores romanos, aunque ello sea más bien un invento de Hollywood.”
    — Maruja Torres [00:51]

3. The Impact on Palestine: Death, Misery, and the Farce of Peace

• Condemnation to Suffering

  • Torres is unflinching in her description:

    “Netanyahu y Trump alzan el pulgar para condenar a aniquilación, a esclavitud colonial, a miseria, enfermedad y hambruna.”
    — Maruja Torres [01:03]

• The Futility of 'Peace Plans'

  • She criticizes so-called peace initiatives, noting they won't “resucitar a los casi 66.000 palestinos asesinados, la mayoría civiles” (resurrect the nearly 66,000 murdered Palestinians, mostly civilians), nor heal the physical and emotional trauma of survivors:

    “Ni hará crecer los amputados miembros de los niños, ni disminuirá el dolor de las madres que sobreviven a su prole.”
    — Maruja Torres [01:24]

4. The International Theatre: Profiteers and Hypocrisy

• On Foreign Experts

  • Torres, with sarcasm, refers to Tony Blair’s role in reconstruction:

    “Tony Blair en el papel de experto para la reconstrucción. ¿Por qué no me extraña Aznar?”
    — Maruja Torres [01:38]

• Spanish Complicity

  • She alludes to the vested interests of Spanish commentators and politicians (“los palmeros del genocidio que cacarean desde el centro de la española meseta central”), indicting even those who aren’t official participants but benefit nonetheless [01:45].

5. Final Reflection

• A Scene of Death
  • The episode closes with a dark metaphor:

    “Pulgares arriba para escena muerta, lo mires como lo mires.”
    — Maruja Torres [01:50]

  • This underlines Torres' thesis that these gestures and international performances only serve to legitimize devastation and suffering.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Absolute Power and Impunity:

  “Podían hacerlo. Nadie les tose.”
  — Maruja Torres [00:25]

• On the true victims:

  “La represión que sufren les impide manifestarse por Palestina como querrían.”
  — Maruja Torres [00:33]

• On humanitarian aid:

  “Y también se las arreglarán para que no les llegue la ayuda humanitaria prometida.”
  — Maruja Torres [01:31]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:08] Scene setting: Netanyahu and Trump at the White House
• [00:25] Their absolute impunity and power
• [00:33] The Arab regimes’ complicity and silencing of their peoples
• [00:51] The perversion of the 'thumbs up' gesture
• [01:03] Condemnation to extermination and colonial servitude
• [01:24] The ineffectiveness of peace plans and the ongoing Palestinian suffering
• [01:38] Tony Blair's role and sarcasm about other Western leaders
• [01:45] Spanish political and media complicity
• [01:50] Final metaphor on 'thumbs up for a scene of death'

Tone and Style

Maruja Torres delivers her commentary with biting irony, moral urgency, and deep empathy for the Palestinian victims. Her language is vivid, uncompromising, and laced with historical and political allusions, making this a powerful piece of radio journalism that challenges listeners’ complacency and demands ethical reflection.