VIDEO | When Gabriel Rufián Said There Wouldn't Be a Major Blackout and That It Was 'a Hoax'

The Great Blackout is focusing all the current events in Spain. In the midst of a social and political crisis, the power supply in the Iberian Peninsula went down for hours yesterday. An unusual event that has sparked all kinds of theories and conspiracies, and has also been a tool of political rivalry.

After the blackout occurred, some recalled a visionary (irony mode) intervention by Gabriel Rufián in the Congress of Deputies. It was in November 2021. In his crusade against the far right and fake news, he emphatically stated that there would be no blackout.

"It is literally a lie that there will be a blackout in this country," said the ERC leader in Congress. His argument was that "hydroelectric plants are prepared to generate much more electricity than the entire population is capable of producing every day." He also added that Spain "has up to ten different energy sources."

Gabriel Rufián attributed the fear of the blackout to a "hoax" that the "far right" was circulating through WhatsApp channels. With enormous arrogance, he said that "disinformation is already the great threat to democracy here and in Europe."

"The kryptonite of lies is data," he stated, concluding that "there will be no blackout in Spain."

A user on X then replied to him that "the problem is not whether they can generate twenty times more electricity. The problem is that they are a bunch of useless people capable of imposing a new tax on electricity generation." He wasn't far off.

Reality Surpasses Any Fiction

The causes of the blackout that left Spain in darkness and plunged into chaos for hours this Monday are still unknown. In fact, experts warn that it could take months to know the causes, and meanwhile, it is better not to speculate. But Portugal points to Spain, and experts find it feasible that the problem originated in the Spanish Electric Grid.

Gabriel Rufián underestimated President Pedro Sánchez's government's ability to create problems. Reality surpasses any fiction, and what the republican deputy believed to be a "hoax" has become reality. Moreover, his intervention leaves him exposed.

Because Gabriel Rufián said that Spain had up to ten different energy sources. But it took more than twelve hours to restore part of the power supply. Neither did the capacity of the hydroelectric plants Rufián spoke of help to prevent the largest blackout in Spain's recent history.