Raising a Freedom Army in Seville

Spain is a wonderful country. And particularly, Andalusia, its southern region, has a charm and beauty difficult to find anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, like in many other parts of the globe, the political class does not share these positive features.

Thus, the Free Market Road Show event in Seville aimed to discuss not only the political challenges freedom faces in Europe but also specific Spanish issues.

The first panel was titled “Is Europe moving towards Socialism or Freedom?” and was comprised by Gloria Álvarez (Guatemala), Federico N. Fernández (Argentina), Miguel Belloso, Javier Benegas, and Luis Iglesias (all from Spain).

Ms. Álvarez was asked to give a speech on how people from Latin America perceive socialism in Europe. She explained that in Latin American countries many people still believe that socialism has worked perfectly well in Scandinavia and that it has failed in their own countries due to corruption. According to Ms. Álvarez, this entails a double error. On the one hand, it presents an absolutely distorted view of “socialism” in countries like Sweden. On the other, it fails to understand that Latin American cleptocracy has a lot to do with with socialism and big governments.

Then it was the turn of Javier Benegas, who is the Editor of Disidentia. Disidentia defines itself as “a journal of analysis and opinion for the non-conformist, critical reader, with cultural concerns, inclined to participate, to discuss rationally, to express their reasoning.”

Mr. Benegas criticized the so-called “knowledge elite” which through certain certifications and degrees has created a system of validation that includes and excludes. “Institutional merit relies more in academic titles than real achievements,” explained the Spanish journalist. And he warned that we could be facing the substitution of real meritocracy with an oligarchy. Mr. Benegas concluded that we have to eliminate the barriers which threat the progress of truly talented individuals who lack the “proper certifications.”  

 

In the second panel titled “Immigration, feminism, Islam, media, nationalism…the challenges to Liberty,” there were several highlights.

Álvaro Bernard talked about the “criminalization of men.” The popular YouTuber said that there is a current mismatch in the treatment of men. “If you are a man and you have done nothing, they want to lynch you. But, if you are a man and you have killed or raped, they want to reinsert you in society.”

Cristina Losada spoke on another difficult issue: immigration. In her talk “Neither walls nor open borders” she highlighted the shortcomings of these positions and explained that mass migration can be destabilizing to certain societies and should be dealt with a rational approach instead of screaming epithets to those who express concerns.

 

You can revisit our whole FMRS event in Seville on this link and watch the two full panels. 

 

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