<![CDATA[Ara Balears in English - Constitution]]> 10 <![CDATA[Of pious women, Pharisees, and heretics]]> Secularism is one of the most important achievements of Western democracies. Separating the state and laws from religious beliefs is a fundamental step forward in guaranteeing civil liberties (including freedom of worship) and ensuring internal cohesion and the pluralistic and convivial nature of democratic societies. Governance mixed with religion tends to generate authoritarian or outright totalitarian policies, which amounts to criminal governments. A theocratic state like Iran massacres its population under the direct orders of its clerics, who do not hesitate to label citizens as terrorists deserving of execution. A democracy like Israel, led by ultra-religious and far-right leaders, becomes a corrupt power machine, capable of perpetrating the countless crimes of the Gaza genocide (which, incidentally, continues, even though the media has shifted its focus). The current aspiring global dictator, the delusional Trump, and his shadowy lieutenants (Rubio, Vance, Sedgeth) often invoke God and declare themselves divinely called to a transcendent mission, to justify what are nothing more than abuses of power committed by a gang of thieves who, unfortunately, have access. One of their first victims, another dictator, Maduro, acted similarly, but on a domestic Venezuelan level.

]]> <![CDATA[Alfonso Rodríguez calls for a national housing pact on Constitution Day]]>

The central government's delegate in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, called for "consensus" and championed "major agreements" in the face of challenges that "affect everyone, such as housing," during his speech at the institutional event for Constitution Day, held this Saturday at the Almudaina Palace in Palma. The main authorities of the Islands attended the commemoration of the 47th anniversary of the Constitution. Rodríguez Badal recalled that this year marks 50 years since the death of dictator Francisco Franco, which ushered in "a time of hope and optimism" thanks to the "courage" and "common sense" of all those who faced "an enormous challenge." He defended the Constitution as "a tool destined to endure" and "the key" to leaving behind "a period of darkness" and moving towards "a modern country."

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