quinta-feira, 25 de junho de 2026
Scandal after scandal lands Spain’s Sánchez on the ropes
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Scandal
after scandal lands Spain’s Sánchez on the ropes
It’s
becoming increasingly difficult for coalition allies to stick with the prime
minister as the scale of alleged Socialist party corruption swells.
May 28,
2026 4:00 am CET
By Guy
Hedgecoe
https://www.politico.eu/article/scandal-after-scandal-lands-spain-pedro-sanchez-on-the-ropes/
MADRID —
Pummelled by corruption crises and stinging defeats in regional elections,
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is running out of road.
Investigators
raided the headquarters of his Socialist party on Wednesday in a probe into the
misuse of party funds. That would have been bad enough in itself, but it’s only
the latest episode in a blizzard of corruption scandals weighing on the party.
Conservative
opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said the government is now in its “death
throes” and demanded that Sánchez resign and call elections. “How many more
raids? How many more kickbacks?” he asked.
For now,
Sánchez’s fragile coalition is holding firm but it is becoming increasingly
awkward for his allies to stick with him as the scale of the alleged Socialist
party corruption comes into focus. Officially, Spain does not have to hold
elections until next August but the prime minister may be forced for move
earlier.
Much
attention will center on a particularly high-profile case involving former
Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. He is due to appear in court on
June 17 and the revelations are proving increasingly damaging for Sánchez.
It’s a
complicated saga, but POLITICO will guide you through the key elements of the
scandals that are submerging Spain’s leader.
Let’s
start with Zapatero. What happened there?
An
investigating judge suspects former Prime Minister Zapatero of leading a
criminal network that used his influence to secure a €53 million Covid-era
government bailout for Plus Ultra airline in 2021. Zapatero, investigators
allege, received a total of €2.6 million from the network, which had links to
Venezuela and China. The judge alleges much of the money went through companies
run by his jogging partner, Julio Martínez, while a firm belonging to the
former prime minister’s two daughters received a large portion of the funds.
Zapatero, who has been charged with criminal organization, influence peddling
and falsifying documents, denies any wrongdoing.
But
Zapatero isn’t in the government, so this shouldn’t be too bad for Sánchez,
right?
Wrong.
Zapatero, who governed Spain from 2004 to 2011, has become a close ally of
Sánchez, fiercely defending his government’s policies and being deployed to
manage delicate negotiations with Basque and Catalan parliamentary allies. He
is seen as an ideological soul-mate of Sánchez. What’s more, Sánchez was in
government when the airline was bailed out, so questions are going to be asked
about whether due process was followed when that decision was made.
What does
Sánchez himself say about this?
So far,
he’s stood resolutely by his predecessor. He has declared his administration’s
“full cooperation with the justice system, full respect for the presumption of
innocence of Mr Zapatero and all my support for [him].”
This
isn’t the only scandal affecting the Sánchez government, is it?
No. Last
June, Sánchez was forced to apologize after it emerged that his confidant and
Socialist Party No. 3, Santos Cerdán, was under investigation for involvement
in a massive public contract kickback scheme. Also caught up in that scandal
was José Luis Ábalos, a former senior figure in the Socialist Party and
transport minister, who had already been under investigation. Deepening the
party’s embarrassment, evidence also emerged that Ábalos paid prostitutes on a
number of occasions. Both men have denied involvement in the kickback scheme.
Ábalos
has already gone on trial once, alongside his former adviser, Koldo García and
businessman Víctor de Aldama, accused of taking kickbacks from the purchase of
€50 million-worth of facemasks during the pandemic. They are awaiting the
verdict but are expected to face trial again in the future over other probes.
That all
sounds pretty serious.
It is,
although the immediate fallout from Ábalos’ involvement was mitigated by the
fact he had left the cabinet in 2021 and was kicked out of the party soon after
he came under suspicion, in 2024. The Cerdán case was worse because Sánchez had
defended his innocence in the face of lurid media reports, right up until
details of the investigation were made public, when he was still a senior
figure in the party.
So the
Socialist Party is in the center of the storm here?
Yes, and
on Wednesday, police seized documents from the Socialist headquarters in
central Madrid as part of a probe into allegations that party money had been
used to pay journalist Leire Díez to wage a campaign to undermine legal cases
affecting the government and its allies. She denies any wrongdoing and has
claimed she was researching a book. Among those named as suspects in this case
are Cerdán and Ana María Fuentes, the Socialist Party’s federal director.
Separately, Díez is being investigated for misuse of public funds.
Are there
any more cases affecting Sánchez?
Yes,
actually. In November, the attorney general, Álvaro García Ortiz, a government
pick, was found guilty of revealing secrets in a highly controversial case.
García Ortiz was accused of making public the tax affairs of the boyfriend of
Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the populist, conservative president of the Madrid region,
who had committed tax fraud. Although no direct evidence against García Ortiz
was presented, he was barred from office for two years.
OK, but
at least Sánchez himself is not directly implicated in any of these cases, is
he?
No, but
some of his family are. Since 2024, a judge has been zealously investigating
the business and professional affairs of his wife, Begoña Gómez, naming her as
a suspect in several alleged crimes. Also, Sánchez’s musician brother, David,
is currently on trial in the southern city of Badajoz, accused of influence
peddling in his appointment to a local musical director post in 2017. Among his
co-defendants are several local Socialist Party members. Sánchez has drawn a
distinction between probes such as those into Ábalos and Cerdán, and those he
deems politically motivated, like the cases involving his brother and his wife,
the latter. He has described the latter as an “obscene farce.”
So how
bad is all this for Sánchez?
Patience
is wearing thin. Feijóo’s comments that Sánchez should go are entirely expected
as are, to an extent, calls for next year’s general election to be brought
forward by former Socialist Prime Minister Felipe González and the party’s
powerful president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, both regular
Sánchez critics. The key question is where the coalition and parliamentary
partners stand. So far, there is no sign of an outright rebellion, but tensions
are rising. The Basque Nationalist Party is warning it would be “very
difficult” for Sánchez to see out the full legislature. The far-left Sumar
party and the Republican Left of Catalonia are also warning that solid evidence
of illegal party financing will be a red line for them.
Besides
the legal cases, how are Sánchez and the Socialists doing?
It’s been
a painful election season. A recent quartet of regional elections only deepened
the gloom for Sánchez. In all four, the Socialists lost to the People’s Party.
Earlier this month in Andalusia, once a Socialist stronghold, the party slumped
to its worst result ever, under the candidacy of former Deputy Prime Minister
María Jesús Montero — seen as a sign that the national leadership brand could
be toxic. Polls suggest that if a general election were held tomorrow, the
People’s Party would win and could form a majority with the far-right Vox
party.
Can
Sánchez hang on?
Much will
hinge on how the current investigations play out, particularly the one
involving Zapatero, with its potential to embroil the government. If illegal
party financing is confirmed that is also likely to break the coalition.
Sánchez is vowing to dig in and serve out the full term until summer 2027,
saying he will only call a vote when it is in “the general interest of the
citizens.” In truth, however, his hand may be forced by events.
População em Portugal atinge 11,4 milhões. Imigrantes são 14% dos residentes / Population in Portugal reaches 11.4 million. Immigrants are 14% of residents
População
em Portugal atinge 11,4 milhões. Imigrantes são 14% dos residentes
INE
utilizou várias fontes administrativas, como Ministério da Educação e Segurança
Social, com aplicação de ténicas estatísticas para chegar aos resultados.
Amanda
Lima
Publicado
a:
22 Jun
2026, 12:04
Atualizado
a:
22 Jun
2026, 12:04
https://www.dn.pt/sociedade/populao-em-portugal-atinge-114-milhes-imigrantes-so-14-dos-residentes
O
Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE) acaba de divulgar os dados sobre
população residente em Portugal. São 11,4 milhões de pessoas, dos quais quase
1,6 milhões são imigrantes, o equivalente a 14% do total da população
residente. Em números mais exatos, são 1 597 539 pessoas.
Este
valor correspondeu a um aumento de 59 113 pessoas relativamente ao ano
anterior, segundo INE. Entre 2021 e 2025, a população de nacionalidade
estrangeira mais do que duplicou, o que correspondeu a um aumento de 849 384
pessoas (passando de 748 155 para 1 597 539).
Para
chegar a estes dados, o INE utilizou os dados da Agência para Integração,
Migrações e Asilo (AIMA), mas não só. Foram cruzados dados administrativos de
outras tutelas, como Segurança Social, Finanças e Ministério da Educação.
De acordo
com o INE, os aumentos mais expressivos ocorreram nos anos de 2022, com mais
(326 090 imigrantes), 2023 (mais 275 929 imigrantes) e 2024, quando foram
somados 188 252 cidadãos estrangeiros.
O Algarve
foi a região com maior peso da população estrangeira: 27,9%, num total de 161
556 pessoas. O número é mais significativo do que em Lisboa, que apresenta a
segunda maior proporção (22,6%), seguida pela Península de Setúbal (18,3%).
Em
relação ao perfil desta população, continua a ser predominantemente em idade
ativa, com 86,1% de pessoas entre os 15 aos 64 anos de idade, "muito
distinta da população total". O grupo de menores de 14 anos constitui 8,9%
do total de imigrantes e o de idosos 5% (acima dos 65 anos de idade). Segundo o
INE, a concentração nas idades ativas aumentou relativamente a 2021 em 3,6
pontos percentuais.
Homens
são a maioria entre a população estrangeira, correspondendo a 57% do total (913
249 pessoas). Mulheres são 684 290, o equivalentre a 42,8%.
A
nacionalidade brasileira continua a ser a mais representativa, com 35,9% da
população estrangeira residente. "Relativamente a 2021, o número de
residentes nacionais do Brasil mais do que duplicou (106,5%), tendo registado
um acréscimo de 296 086 pessoas", lê-se no relatório.
Em
segundo lugar está a nacionalidade angolana, com 103 140 pessoas, o equivalente
a 6,5% do total de estrangeiros. De acordo com os dados do INE. O aumento é
"acentuado" se comparado com 2021, quando esta população tinha 33 099
pessoas em Portugal.
Cidadãos
da Índia estão em terceiro lugar, com um total de 93 683 pessoas a residir em
Portugal. Cabo Verde (76 099), Nepal (56 866), Bangladesh (56 724) e
Guiné-Bissau (53 555) completam o conjunto das principais nacionalidades
estrangeiras em 2025.
A
polémica dos números
O INE
decidiu rever os números da população estrangeira desde 2021 após uma polémica
suscitada pelo então Presidente Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. O mesmo já havia
ocorrido por divergência de dados entre o Governo e partidos da oposição,
nomeadamente o Partido Socialista (PS).
Tudo
começou quando o Ministério da Presidência decidiu, em abril de 2025, divulgar
um relatório intercalar com novos números da imigração. Na ocasião, dava conta
de que o país tinha 1,5 milhões de imigrantes.
Este dado
tinha um aumento de 248.857 imigrantes. Isso ocorreu porque estava - e ainda
está - em curso uma operação de recuperação de pendências antigas. Destes
imigrantes, a maioria já estava a residir em território nacional, mas à espera
de um documento.
Em
dezembro, o assunto novamente veio a público. O semanário Expresso divulgou que
Estado não sabe “quantos são e onde vivem os imigrantes”. Na altura, o ministro
da Presidência, António Leitão Amaro, respondeu. “O que está a acontecer é o
natural: quando, durante anos, se esconderam estatísticas, quando havia
processos que estavam na gaveta e que, por isso, não eram contados, há um
processo, que tem de ser sério, de identificação, contabilização e retirada da
gaveta e da escuridão de números que estavam em Portugal mas que não estavam
contabilizados”, explicou.
O
ministro António Leitão vai reagir ao relatório do INE às 14h.
Population
in Portugal reaches 11.4 million. Immigrants are 14% of residents
INE used
several administrative sources, such as the Ministry of Education and Social
Security, with the application of statistical techniques to arrive at the
results.
Amanda
Lima
Published
to:
22 Jun
2026, 12:04
Updated
to:
22 Jun
2026, 12:04
https://www.dn.pt/sociedade/populao-em-portugal-atinge-114-milhes-imigrantes-so-14-dos-residentes
The
National Statistics Institute (INE) has just released data on the resident
population in Portugal. There are 11.4 million people, of which almost 1.6
million are immigrants, equivalent to 14% of the total resident population. In
more exact numbers, there are 1,597,539 people.
This
figure corresponded to an increase of 59,113 people compared to the previous
year, according to INE. Between 2021 and 2025, the population of foreign
nationality more than doubled, which corresponded to an increase of 849,384
people (from 748,155 to 1,597,539).
To arrive
at these data, INE used data from the Agency for Integration, Migration and
Asylum (AIMA), but not only. Administrative data from other guardianships, such
as Social Security, Finance and the Ministry of Education, were
cross-referenced.
According
to INE, the most significant increases occurred in 2022, with more (326,090
immigrants), 2023 (275,929 more immigrants) and 2024, when 188,252 foreign
citizens were added.
The
Algarve was the region with the highest weight of the foreign population:
27.9%, in a total of 161,556 people. The number is more significant than in
Lisbon, which has the second highest proportion (22.6%), followed by the
Setúbal Peninsula (18.3%).
Regarding
the profile of this population, it continues to be predominantly of working
age, with 86.1% of people between 15 and 64 years of age, "very different
from the total population". The group of children under 14 years of age
constitutes 8.9% of the total number of immigrants and the elderly 5% (over 65
years of age). According to INE, the concentration in working ages increased
compared to 2021 by 3.6 percentage points.
Men are
the majority among the foreign population, corresponding to 57% of the total
(913,249 people). Women are 684,290, equivalent to 42.8%.
Brazilian
nationality continues to be the most representative, with 35.9% of the resident
foreign population. "Compared to 2021, the number of national residents of
Brazil more than doubled (106.5%), having registered an increase of 296,086
people," reads the report.
In second
place is Angolan nationality, with 103,140 people, equivalent to 6.5% of the
total number of foreigners. According to INE data. The increase is
"sharp" compared to 2021, when this population had 33,099 people in
Portugal.
Citizens
of India are in third place, with a total of 93,683 people residing in
Portugal. Cape Verde (76,099), Nepal (56,866), Bangladesh (56,724) and
Guinea-Bissau (53,555) complete the set of main foreign nationalities in 2025.
The
controversy of the numbers
INE
decided to revise the numbers of the foreign population since 2021 after a
controversy raised by the then President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The same had
already occurred due to divergence of data between the Government and
opposition parties, namely the Socialist Party (PS).
It all
started when the Ministry of the Presidency decided, in April 2025, to release
an interim report with new immigration figures. At the time, he reported that
the country had 1.5 million immigrants.
This
figure had an increase of 248,857 immigrants. This occurred because an
operation to recover old pending issues was - and still is - underway. Of these
immigrants, most were already residing in national territory, but waiting for a
document.
In
December, the matter was again made public. The weekly newspaper Expresso
reported that the State does not know "how many immigrants there are and
where they live". At the time, the Minister of the Presidency, António
Leitão Amaro, responded. "What is happening is natural: when, for years,
statistics were hidden, when there were processes that were in the drawer and
that, therefore, were not counted, there is a process, which has to be serious,
of identification, accounting and removal from the drawer and the darkness of
numbers that were in Portugal but that were not accounted for", he explained.
Minister
António Leitão will react to the INE report at 2 pm.
Entraram por dia em Portugal em média 581 novos imigrantes entre 2021 e 2025 / An average of 581 new immigrants entered Portugal per day between 2021 and 2025
Sociedade
Entraram
por dia em Portugal em média 581 novos imigrantes entre 2021 e 2025
O ano de
2022, logo após a pandemia, foi aquele em que se registou a maior entrada de
imigrantes: 326.090. O travão começou em 2024, com o fim das manifestações de
interesse e alterações à lei.
Amanda
Lima
Publicado
a:
23 Jun
2026, 09:03
Atualizado
a:
23 Jun
2026, 09:03
A
população estrangeira residente em Portugal passou de 748.155 pessoas no final
de 2021 para 1.597.530 pessoas em 31 de dezembro de 2025. Este número
representa, em média, a entrada de 581 novos imigrantes por dia durante este
período. É o que revelam os dados do Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE),
apresentados ontem após revisão.
Das 11,4
milhões de pessoas que vivem em Portugal, 14% são estrangeiras. Para chegar a
estes números, o INE utilizou dados da Agência para a Integração, Migrações e
Asilo (AIMA), mas não só. Foram também cruzados dados administrativos de outras
entidades, como a Segurança Social, a Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira e o
Ministério da Educação.
De acordo
com o INE, os aumentos mais expressivos ocorreram em 2022, com mais 326.090
imigrantes, em 2023, com mais 275.929, e em 2024, quando se registou um
acréscimo de 188.252 cidadãos estrangeiros.
O ano de
2022 surgiu imediatamente após a pandemia, durante a qual vigorou um longo
período de restrições às viagens internacionais, incluindo de turismo,
utilizada em Portugal como uma forma de entrar no país. O índice manteve-se
alto em 2023 e em 2024, a desaceleração ficou a dever-se a uma alteração
anunciada pelo Governo em 3 de junho.
Foi o fim
das manifestações de interesse. Deixou de ser possível entrar em Portugal como
turista e pedir posteriormente a regularização no território, embora
continuassem a existir algumas vias alternativas.
O
executivo de Luís Montenegro prosseguiu com reformas destinadas a impedir
formas de imigração sem visto prévio, apresentando-as como uma forma de
“controlar a imigração” e “diminuir a pressão nos serviços”, como na habitação
e saúde.
Mas nem
tudo é tão linear, alertou à Lusa o presidente da Associação Portuguesa de
Administradores Hospitalares (APAH), Xavier Barreto. “Se a população aumenta e
se essa população tem necessidade de ter acesso ao SNS, o que nós temos que
fazer - partindo do pressuposto de que essa população faz falta e que está cá a
trabalhar - é capacitar o SNS”, defendeu.
Ao DN, a
investigadora e socióloga Catarina Reis, especialista no tema, vê os números
numa lógica inversa. “Tínhamos escolas a fechar e agora já não estão. O mesmo
relatório mostra o envelhecimento da população. Se olharmos para os números da
Segurança Social, a mão de obra estrangeira já representa mais de 14% do total,
então é essa necessidade para o mercado de trabalho, para manter a economia a
funcionar”, refere.
Na visão
da especialista, há “uma discussão que ninguém quer fazer”, nomeadamente a da
integração. “É achar que só querem mão de obra. Não pensam que os imigrantes
chegam e têm que estabelecer um contrato social, estar com a sua família e não
ter só obrigações”, explica. O DN sabe que está prevista a apresentação pelo
Governo de um plano nacional de integração até ao verão.
amanda.lima@dn.pt
Society
An
average of 581 new immigrants entered Portugal per day between 2021 and 2025
The year
2022, right after the pandemic, was the one in which the largest entry of
immigrants was registered: 326,090. The brake began in 2024, with the end of
expressions of interest and changes to the law.
Amanda
Lima
Published
to:
23 Jun
2026, 09:03
Updated
to:
23 Jun
2026, 09:03
The
foreign population residing in Portugal went from 748,155 people at the end of
2021 to 1,597,530 people on December 31, 2025. This number represents, on
average, the entry of 581 new immigrants per day during this period. This is
what data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) reveal, presented
yesterday after review.
Of the
11.4 million people living in Portugal, 14% are foreigners. To arrive at these
figures, INE used data from the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum
(AIMA), but not only. Administrative data from other entities were also
cross-referenced, such as Social Security, the Tax and Customs Authority and
the Ministry of Education.
According
to INE, the most significant increases occurred in 2022, with 326,090 more
immigrants, in 2023, with 275,929 more, and in 2024, when there was an increase
of 188,252 foreign citizens.
The year
2022 came immediately after the pandemic, during which a long period of
restrictions on international travel, including tourism, was in force, used in
Portugal as a way to enter the country. The index remained high in 2023 and in
2024, the deceleration was due to a change announced by the Government on June
3.
It was
the end of expressions of interest. It was no longer possible to enter Portugal
as a tourist and later request regularization in the territory, although there
were still some alternative routes.
Luís
Montenegro's executive continued with reforms aimed at preventing forms of
immigration without prior visa, presenting them as a way to "control
immigration" and "reduce pressure on services", such as housing
and health.
But not
everything is so linear, the president of the Portuguese Association of
Hospital Administrators (APAH), Xavier Barreto, warned Lusa. "If the
population increases and if this population needs to have access to the NHS,
what we have to do - assuming that this population is needed and that it is
here working - is to empower the NHS", he defended.
To DN,
researcher and sociologist Catarina Reis, a specialist in the subject, sees the
numbers in an inverse logic. "We had schools closing and now they are no
longer. The same report shows the aging of the population. If we look at the
Social Security figures, foreign labor already represents more than 14% of the
total, so it is this need for the labor market, to keep the economy
running", he says.
In the
expert's view, there is "a discussion that no one wants to have",
namely that of integration. "It's thinking that they only want labor. They
don't think that immigrants arrive and have to establish a social contract, be
with their family and not just have obligations," he explains. DN knows
that the Government is expected to present a national integration plan by the
summer.
amanda.lima@dn.pt
Inside England’s Segregated Town (Blackburn)
The ward of Bastwell & Daisyfield in Blackburn, Lancashire, has a
Muslim population proportion ranging from 83.6% to 92.1%. Across the wider Blackburn
with Darwen unitary authority, Muslims make up about 35.0% of the local
population, reflecting shifting demographics across the region.
The high
concentration of the Muslim community in these wards can be traced back to the
post-war industrial era. During the 1960s, a large number of families emigrated
from South Asia (mainly India and Pakistan) to work in the local cotton mills.
Over successive decades, extended families settled in these central and
suburban streets, leading to the highly concentrated demographics seen in the
latest Census 2021 data
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