Pedro Tarquis wears many hats. Some might describe him as a retired physician, having spent 40 years practicing in Madrid’s public health care system. Others might view him as a social leader: an ordained minister of the Christian Assembly of Madrid, a board member of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance, and a member of the Parlamento & Fe (Parliament & Faith) Coordinating Committee in Spain. Many will recognize him as a journalist, having spent over 20 years at the helm of Areópago Protestante — a leading media platform for the Spanish-speaking conservative world.

However, the aspect of his life he would most emphasize is the 180-degree turn that occurred when he encountered “Jesus as my Lord and Savior at the age of 24.” Since then, he has been passionate about apologetics, bioethics, and the importance of Christian presence and witness in public life.

Today, he is an analyst who seeks to provide a balanced assessment of Spain’s political situation. Under a “social-communist” government that has been in power for nearly a decade — led by President Pedro Sánchez — the consequences, both domestically and for the wider Western world, appear significant.

Here is part one of my interview with Pedro.

Who is Pedro Sánchez — aside from being the president of the Socialist International since 2022 and the head of the Spanish government since 2018? How would you say Sanchismo is characterized when compared to previous governments formed by his party, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE)?

Sánchez is an extremely cunning politician — devoid of both scruples and principles — who has transformed the PSOE into a movement entirely of his own making; a sui generis phenomenon known as Sanchismo.

I would argue that its defining characteristic is elevating the mere survival in power — at any cost — to the status of its highest value. Through his current policies, he has repeatedly betrayed his own political platform and provoked the condemnation of the party’s historic figures — the veteran socialists.

Today, Sánchez governs as a minority administration, relying on the support of regionalist parties that — at best — have little interest in the national welfare. In exchange for this support, the PSOE continues to grant them all manner of concessions: in some cases dismembering the State; in others, acting contrary to ethics and justice; and, finally, on many occasions, acting with the sheer pragmatism that the end justifies the means.

Are you referring to parties like EH Bildu — with whom Sánchez has established parliamentary agreements — and which includes leaders and factions historically linked to the political sphere of the former terrorist group ETA?

That is one of them. Several others are pro-independence parties in Catalonia and the Basque Country. In the specific case of EH Bildu — yes, it was linked to ETA’s terrorism, even though they have now abandoned what they termed the “armed struggle.”

Sánchez’s government recently went so far as to deny the United States — a historic European ally — access to Spanish national territory. Is Spanish socialism fracturing that historic alliance?

Traditional Spanish socialism, I believe, has ceased to exist for the time being.

Sanchismo is using its confrontation with President Donald Trump (as well as with Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel) as a political banner. It seeks to project the image of a leader who stands against war — one capable of standing up to any global power in the name of a supposed peace.

It is a demagogic maneuver designed to repair his tarnished image — particularly among young people — and to mobilize the socialist voter base (alongside his persistent messaging regarding the fear of the “far right”).

An actual fracture of the alliance remains a remote possibility — though a possibility nonetheless — especially should Sánchez remain in power following the next national elections, scheduled for 2027.

Otherwise, I believe that whoever holds the reins of government in Spain at that time will steer the situation back toward maintaining that historic alliance and upholding Spain’s European alignment.

Have religious freedom and freedom of expression suffered under Sanchismo in Spain?

I must point out that during the first socialist government in democratic Spain — under Felipe González — there was significant progress regarding rights and freedoms, including for the evangelical community. However, this progress stalled and subsequently began to erode under the PSOE leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Essentially, this occurs when the political agenda of gender ideology is prioritized.

In fact, during his tenure, there was an attempt to shut down the newspaper Protestante Digital — which is part of Aerópago Protestante — solely for exposing an abuse of power and the persecution of a prominent pastor who had delivered a lecture at a church regarding the biblical perspective on child-rearing and homosexuality.

This situation has escalated exponentially under the government of Pedro Sánchez. This is due in part to Sánchez’s own ideology, but especially because he has required the support of far-left parties in order to govern.

These parties have exerted boundless pressure for the advancement and implementation of the “woke” agenda, resulting in censorship — often in the form of self-censorship — and restrictions on the public expression of religious freedom.