Bailed Out: Jaume and the architects

If you needed to find three million euros pretty sharpish, where would you look?

Short of suddenly striking lucky on the Euromillions, chances are that you wouldn’t find it, and that if your necessity for the three million had been to avoid being banged up, then you would now be languishing in a cell. Duly incarcerated, you would also be unable to participate in an hour-long television interview in which you attack an investigating judge, prosecutors and the police. But then you are not Jaume Matas.

The Matas case is extraordinary in many respects, but the very public nature of the accusations and charges and rebuttals and denials makes it not just extraordinary but unreal. And then there is the small matter of that three million wedge which was handed over in the nick of time and thus spared Matas from prison. Where did it come from? That was what the judge wanted to know; you would think that he’d be grateful. There are plenty who will argue, with some justification, that the bail was excessive (and political). Matas found the money, despite the slight inconvenience of the Easter holidays getting in the way. Maybe this has piqued the judge.

The money, it would appear, came via two sources – Banco de Valencia and Arquía-Caja de Arquitectos, a credit co-operative formed in 1983 for the express purpose of providing savings and loans to architects. As such, you can probably understand that questions are being raised as to why it has been caught up in the provision of bail to keep the former Balearics president out of the slammer, even if it did not directly stump up the moolah as there was a transfer to it from the Banco de Valencia. And as for this bank … It is part of Bancaja, an employee of which is Matas’s brother-in-law, himself implicated in the Palma Arena case. The president of Bancaja also happens to be a former president of the Valencia “generalitat” and a friend of Matas.

Despite the not unusual connections and the unease at Arquía, Matas, one would think, had every right to find whatever means he could to raise what was a huge amount. The size of the bond, while indicating the seriousness of the charges, has added to the sense in which a presumption of guilt has been made. To this end, and bringing us to the unreality of the whole episode, Matas went onto local television this week to express his innocence and to have a go at the prosecuting ranks. Fair though it may be for Matas to give his public version of events, in countering that emanating from the judge and prosecutors, one does have to wonder – again – as to  the judicial process. Moreover, the television channel he chose for his interview, IB3, is not entirely without some political colour – that of the Unió Mallorquina party which has been and remains closely associated with the management of the station. The UM is the most natural ally of the Partido Popular, Matas’s party, on the centre-right of Mallorcan politics. IB3 was also the channel on which former UM leader Maria Antònia Munar gave an interview in which she explained her side of corruption charges that she faces.

Other than the kerfuffle surrounding the bail, it has emerged that Matas has challenged the judge to investigate who – Matas argues – falsified documents related to meetings and the ordering of payments. Not only is this crucial, it also serves as a reminder that there may well be two sides to the whole story. Some, such as elements of the local press, seem to have ignored this possibility, preferring to see Matas as having been bang to rights. Possibly so, but possibly not. Let’s not forget this. Matas could have been remanded, but he has not been.

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.

The Matas Case – Week One

Welcome to the everyday, every week story of corrupt political folk in Mallorca. In this week’s episodes, former Balearics president Jaume Matas came up before the examining magistrate José Castro. First they had to adjourn and then they had to move court room because they reckoned the original room was bugged. Meanwhile, Jaume got annoyed by the fact that he was being called “Jaime”. “Soy Jaume,” he insisted in the best Catalan tradition, albeit that to be strictly Catalan he should have said “sóc”. “Put a sóc in it,” the magistrate might have said, but didn’t.

Jaime, Jaume, did though admit to having paid 400 grand – in black – for work on his house in Palma. But some thought that this might have been a bit of a damage limitation ruse. Demonstrators were in no doubt. “Thieves,” they and their placards cried out when Jaime, Jaume and his (their) wife and lawyer came to court. “Hand the money back,” they demanded. The guys from the press weren’t having any of it either. “Matas wanted to cheat the citizens of the Balearics,” said an editorial in the paper “Ultima Hora”. The prosecutors were also unimpressed, or rather they were highly impressed – by the list of charges they had brought. 68 years they called for. And a 3 million euro bail. Do we hear any higher bids? Strange system that makes these sorts of demands and seems to also make celebrities of the prosecutors and magistrates. Even the left-wing is uneasy that the bail request is because Jaime, Jaume is a politician. The magistrate said he’d pronounce on the bail terms on Monday, when will start another day, another week in the story of corrupt political folk in Mallorca – allegedly and never forgetting that this isn’t actually the full trial.

Undercover in Muro
On a sort of legally related matter and offering a twist to the idea of plain-clothed police, the local plod in Muro are having to go out on patrol in their own clothes because the town hall is apparently not providing uniforms. The mayor is suggesting that it’s all a question of tightening belts, as in the town hall hasn’t got any money (except to buy the bull-ring of course), and that the police will get the clothes if necessary. To which one might ask, what constitutes “necessary”? Bizarre situation.

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.

Murky Waters – Jaume Matas and Mallorcan society

The former president of the Balearics, Jaume Matas, is finally up before the beak to answer allegations related to public money that seemingly went AWOL, or into someone’s pockets, during the project to build the Palma Arena velodrome. The spend on the project, which was undertaken during Matas’s second period as president, was some 100 million euros, 70 million more than was originally budgeted for. Matas is in court with his wife, his brother-in-law and the former head of the GESA-Endesa energy company; all of them facing charges.

While the Unió Mallorquina cases have tended to dominate the corruption column inches, the Matas case is arguably the most serious, given that it involves a former president. Matas was also a one-time member of the national government, that of José María Aznar. The charges against Matas are complex, and I have no intention of even beginning to relate them, but some of them have been delicious in their reporting, as with the inventory of luxury items in his so-called “palacete” in Palma (13 November, 2009: Finding Treasure In The Dark).

The proceedings got under way on Tuesday, only for there to be an immediate adjournment as the prosecution had introduced new evidence from phone taps, something which UK readers might find interesting; Matas’s lawyer is arguing against their being submissible. But before appearing in court, Matas had to run the gauntlet of the media and demonstrators. One of the odder aspects of the court appearance is that it, together with others involving prominent politicians, has made a celebrity of a security guard who accompanies the accused. This is José Nieto, aka “Primo”, a bull of a bloke who is a kick-boxing champion. Not only has he been interviewed by the press, he was also depicted – in cartoon format – on a demonstrator’s placard with the words “give it to him, Primo”. He has become the star of the show.

While much of the reporting will concentrate on the technicalities of the case and on the individuals, there is an altogether more fundamental issue that needs to be addressed – why does it happen? Corruption, that is, or the circumstances that give rise to alleged corruption. The facile answer is that all politicians are corrupt, or something like that. An “expert” reckoned the other day that corruption was some sort of psychiatric condition. Maybe it is. But why have the Balearics, and Mallorca most obviously, come to assume the position of title-holder in the Spanish corruption league? Other parts of the country are similarly blighted, Valencia for example, but it is important to go behind the cases and understand the dynamics that foment the island’s corruption.

When Matas first came into the regional government as economics minister in 1993, he was asked about corruption. His response was to quote the Spanish philosopher José Luis Aranguren. “It is not politicians who are corrupt, but it is society that is sick.” The words are highly relevant. Without knowing the quote (that appeared in “The Diario” on 21 March), I said as much myself some weeks ago – “All power may well indeed corrupt, and inappropriate behaviour by politicians may indeed be taken as a signal to others in local society to misbehave, but I would argue that it is this society that begets the politics of the island, not the other way round” (2 March: The Scream). I have also said that the obvious insularity of Mallorca and its networks and families can be highly influential in creating those circumstances in which corruption can occur.

The logic of this, and of Matas’s quote, is troubling, as it can be interpreted as making politicians charged with corruption appear to be victims of society. This would be insulting to politicians who act honourably, but the logic does need to be taken account of as what it implies is that Mallorcan politics and democracy cannot be practised in a correct way. Ever. Without a change in the culture of society, products of which are the local politicians.

In the reporting that does go behind the case, the emphasis has tended to focus on the individuals. Character assassination has become flavour of the month. It is easy to do this, and while the corrupt cannot expect a sympathetic hearing, the concentration on people’s flaws cannot be complete or entirely comprehensible without an analysis of the society that brings them about. To do so is to enter murky waters, but it is something that needs to be done.

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.