It's rare to see people at the Maspalomas Summer University who command a lot but don't pretend to. It was Sánchez Ruano who laid the cornerstone. The economist, former head of the Canary Islands Government Office in Brussels, spoke out at the Maspalomas Cultural Center. At a meeting convened by the Democracia Canarias XXI Association, under a 30-degree sun and entitled "Europe: A Space for Democracy and Freedom," his words resonated with the force of a slogan.
"The European Union should champion freedom of ideas and knowledge," said Sánchez Ruano. A simple statement. But an urgent one. In a Europe in turmoil, where rhetoric hardens and misinformation dissolves the truth, that phrase hung in the air like a necessary mandate. Freedoms are eroding, illiberal forces are gaining ground, and youth are becoming detached. Europe is doubting itself. The morning brought a technical debate. Eduardo González de Molina and Maribel Monzón moderated. Along with Sánchez Ruano, the island's MEP Juan Fernando López Aguilar and the Canary Islands native Luis Fernando Pérez López, International Director of RTVE News Services, outlined the democratic foundations of the European project. And the winds that threaten to topple them.
López Aguilar defended his position. "Europe remains a beacon of hope for human rights and civil liberties," he asserted vehemently. But he added an uncomfortable truth: the European Parliament, he said, is being used "increasingly as a tool to wage politics against Spain." He was referring to the recent European bloc of the People's Party (PP), which includes three far-right parties, a coalition that now holds 60% of the seats in the European Parliament. Power is changing hands. Pérez López warned about digital disinformation. A corrosive role. A direct cause, he argued, of the democratic crisis. The speakers agreed. "False information, disguised as news, is blurring the margins of reality," he warned. The line between reality and fabrication was becoming blurred.
For Sánchez Ruano, the greatest risk wasn't the noise, but the silence. The self-censorship. The fear of thinking outside the consensus. Europe, he insisted, must protect freedom of expression not only in the media, but also in the free circulation of ideas, knowledge, and critical insight. He considered this essential to sustaining any lasting democracy. His words were addressed not only to experts, but also to the half-empty classrooms. “It's striking,” someone lamented from the room, “the low participation of young people in these events.”
But the afternoon filled the void. The second session, “Europe from a Young Perspective,” spoke Carmen Celaya Martín, Diego Ramón Ruiz Barrios, and Ainhoa Dávila Pérez. The conversation was more direct. More incisive. Everyone knew: without young people, there is no lasting democracy. “This event should help young people understand their role and express themselves. Democracy is not inherited: it is built every day,” said Dávila. It wasn't a gift. It was a task. Celaya and Ruiz Barrios proposed European social networks. With democratic codes. To curb mass manipulation. Without curtailing freedom. “Networks that don't respect them should not be able to operate in Europe,” they emphasized. A clear boundary.
The day ended without toasts. No declarations. Just a shared feeling: European democracy is more fragile today. Its defense demands more than speeches. It demands clarity. Participation. And, above all, courage. The courage to think differently. Sánchez Ruano had distilled it at the beginning, with his usual elegance: "Freedom is more than voting. It is the possibility of imagining another world, and saying it out loud." In Maspalomas, under the Atlantic sun, that simple truth was heard clearly.
