Only a few months had passed since I moved to Madrid, when on the dawn of March 11, 2004, explosive devices shattered four local trains within and near the city, claiming the lives of 192 individuals and causing injuries to almost 1,900 others.
Because of the double-glazed windows installed in my apartment, I was spared from hearing the deafening sounds of the blasts which occurred in the nearby Atocha station. The very next day, however, the public reaction to this terrifying event was impossible to disregard. Citizens, totalling 11 million across different cities, expressed their anger by rallying on the streets. Leading Spain’s conservative party, Prime Minister José María Aznar was seen together with the head of the Socialist opposition, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and Spain’s future king, Felipe, united in the face of this national tragedy.
Nonetheless, the fallout of the attack succeeded in introducing a destructive division into Spanish societal and political dynamics which negatively impacted public discussions and catalysed a scepticism towards the country’s democratic institutions – effects of which are still evident today.
The act of terror, later referred to as “11-M”, ranks as the harshest terrorist attack in Europe following the Lockerbie bombing and marked the first time that Jihadist terrorism had targeted Spain, a country already accustomed to more than thirty years of separatist violence from the Basque group, Eta.
Despite Eta’s activities in 2004, they were significantly weakened, leading to the immediate suspicion of Islamist workings behind the gruesome self-destruction in Madrid by many observers, both within Spain and internationally.
Ángel Acebes, the Interior Minister, decisively informed the public that Eta was undoubtedly behind these terrorist actions. Aznar also echoed this assumption by directly informing the chief editors of country’s major papers that the Basque group should be held responsible.
However, the election slated to occur only three days afterwards could have dire implications for Aznar’s ruling Popular Party (PP) if the bombings were found to be the act of Jihadists. Such a revelation was predicted to be interpreted as a direct backlash against the government’s endorsement of the Iraq invasion.
Should it be revealed that Eta was indeed behind this, it would favour Aznar, given his administration’s active attempts to dissolve the terrorist organisation.
Interior Minister Ángel Acebes had confidently assured the people of Spain that Eta was the perpetrator behind the assault. He used the influential platform of the nation’s top news establishments to project this assertion. However, by the day of the election, doubts about the government’s assertions had grown considerably, catalysing a political upset. This resulted in an unexpected majority of votes for the Socialist Zapatero, installing him as Prime Minister.
This marked a magnificent demonstration of democracy, reflecting citizens’ reaction to the deeds of their political figures. But as it later turned out, the true details of the March 11 incident were different. The culprits were actually a sect motivated by al-Qaeda. Right-wing politicians and media steered a conspiracy theory in the public that Eta was hands in glove in the attack. They even suggested that the blast was masterminded to topple the conservative power, with Socialists applauding or potentially scheming the outcome.
Even a decade prior to Donald Trump’s political emergence, Spain had experienced the severe impact of disinformation. Some major political players remained steadfast in pushing the false narrative. Some media powerhouses like COPE radio, a Catholic Church property, and El Mundo newspaper further reinforced the baseless story, tarnishing their credibility in the process.
The aftershocks of this misinformation campaign were profoundly personal. Authorities, political frontrunners, magistrates, and reporters who contradicted the lies were targeted. Among them was Rodolfo Ruiz, a top-ranking police officer and part of the inquiry team. He fell prey to COPE’s allegations of being an accomplice to the terrorist act, which ultimately led to stress-related suicide by his spouse.
Pilar Majón, whose child was one of the victims and was also head of a victims’ advocate group, faced similar plight for refuting the conspiracy theory. In 2017, she acknowledged that her psychological distress intensifies each time accusations of bad parenting or insinuations that her son is better off dead are thrown at her.
Victor Sampedro, an academic who authored a book on the aftermath of the attack, holds that one third of Spanish citizens remain convinced that Eta was implicated, despite evidence to the contrary. This conspiracy theory has had significant implications for the faith placed in Spain’s institutions. Mercedes Gallizo, who held the role of national prisons director under the Zapatero administration, claims this situation triggered doubts about the democratic nature of Spanish society, damaging the image of the police force, judiciary, and intelligence services.
Víctor Sampedro’s book states that such idiosyncrasies following the 2004 attack led to a steady decline in citizens’ trust towards both the media and politicians. Key elements of the attacks caused significant tension within Spain’s political field, contributing to the starkly polarised state of contemporary Spanish politics.
The gap separating the two leading parties, the Socialists and the PP, is so grand that consensus on elementary judicial nominations is unachievable. In the Parliament, uncivilised exchanges have become all too common, with some right-wingers still using Eta as political leverage, even years after the group’s dissolution. Suggestions with dubious democratic standing, like the proposed ban on pro-independence organisations, are often trotted out for potential electoral gains.
The terrorist incident on March 11th, 2004 left many lives in ruins, but the repercussions for Spain over the subsequent twenty years have been broader and all-encompassing. The nation has suffered significant losses in various forms since the attack.