“We have detected that students who take the Selectividad only prepare half of the agenda. Studying only half of the syllabus they can get the highest grade, a 10. We cannot allow there to be people who come to the race with that qualification and with a calculus deficit.”. The person who expresses himself in this way is María Vela, a professor of Statistics at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of the Complutense University and a member of one of the Madrid courts for the university entrance exam.

Vela denounces the picaresque -she calls it “study engineering to optimize results”- to which the students who attend the Evau/Ebau have been resorting since, in 2020, the Ministry of Education with Isabel Celaá at the helm decided to “make the school more flexible”. exam to give you more choice in the face of Covid problems. The pandemic has now ended, but these facilities have been maintained: students have been enjoying more options for three years when it comes to choosing which questions to answer, in such a way that they have a better chance of being able to answer what they know best. To what extent?

“In the Mathematics II subject of the Madrid Community exam there are eight questions: two on algebra, two on geometry, two on calculus and two on probability and statistics.. Of them, you have to choose four, but you can choose two from algebra and two from probability and none from calculus or geometry. Before Covid, you had to choose a complete option, A or B, which made it necessary to study the entire agenda. Not now”, explains this teacher, recognized three times as an “excellent teacher” by the Complutense, corrector for two years of the Selectividad and informal collaborator with the Office of the Vice President for Students in everything related to this exam. She has not been the one who has prepared the questions, but they are known in detail.

“Pandemic exams,” as teachers call them, are actually an à la carte menu. As the latest ministerial order says, they must allow “all students to reach the maximum score”. It is no longer a matter of students being able to choose between one or another algebra question or one or another calculus question. It is that they can select the ones that they know best, even if they are from the same block.

It does not only happen in the Mathematics exam in Madrid, but in other autonomous regions, such as the Valencian Community, and also in other subjects, such as History. “If you study from the 17th to the 19th century, you can get a 10, without knowing the previous centuries,” explains Carlos Javier de Carlos Morales, professor of Modern History at the Autonomous University of Madrid and delegate of the rector for the Selectividad between 2009 and 2021. .

“It is the pandemic model, which determines the ministerial order. With the Covid it was understandable due to the special circumstances of the confinement, but it no longer makes sense. Last year the universities proposed that the system be changed and we were told no,” says De Carlos.

Murcia History Exam, with questions to fill in the gaps.

Vela adds that the advancement of the general elections has left “everything up in the air” because the intention of Pilar Alegría, Celaá's successor, was to propose a new Selectivity format in which this waiver would disappear, but the draft royal decree It has been kept in a drawer waiting for the government that comes out of the polls to decide what to do.

Vela recalls that, in 2020, the correctors of the Mathematics exam got fed up with putting tens and nines. That 2020, only in three of the 180 exercises that she corrected had the students solved the calculus problems, the subject that chokes them the most together with geometry. He says that the easiest ones for them are algebra and statistics.. And the questions in these blocks are the ones they choose the most, although they are not always the simplest.. “What they choose less are functions and calculus, problems where you have to think a little more, master more topics and apply certain processes. They are not as systematic as algebra type problems,” says. It also reveals that, since teachers already know this picaresque, they tend to ask an easier algebra question and another more difficult one, a kind of penalty for those who study only half of the syllabus.

High school teachers confirm the existence of these practices and defend that they teach the entire syllabus during the Baccalaureate. “Everything happens in class, another thing is that students take advantage of the last weeks to prepare what they know best,” says Irene Murcia, a mathematics teacher in Valencia and president of the Critical Observatory of Educational Reality (Ocre).. “They are being given a great facility, which is what everything tends to. Families do not complain because children arrive with very good grades. You have to revalue knowledge and give importance to all the blocks, whether the students like them more or less,” he stresses.

Carlos Madrid, Mathematics teacher at the IES Diego Velázquez in Torrelodones (Madrid), warns that “students can get a 10 by responding to a part of the agenda that is given in just two months of class”, which is the time that dedicates in the second course of Baccalaureate to statistics and algebra. “The hardest and most extensive blocks are those of geometry and calculation,” he explains. He adds that this is “one of the reasons for the inflation of grades that has occurred, in addition to the fact that the difficulty of the exams has been decreasing.”

“It's not about passing the exam, but about preparing for the university,” Vela points out. “I teach Statistics in the first year of my degree and I've talked to other classmates. Although it should be carefully analyzed, we believe that the level with which the students arrive is not the same as in previous years”.

There were not a few who felt the call of politics in Catalonia in that dizzying autumn of 2017, with 1-O, the DUI, 155 or the entry into provisional prison of the leaders of the process. Both to one side and to the other. And Nacho Martín Blanco (Barcelona, 1982), a journalist and political scientist who had spent some years forging his defense of the unity of Spain and opposition to Catalan nationalism on numerous television and radio talk shows (many times, in a manifest minority), accepted the Ciudadanos offer and became a parliamentary deputy after the party's historic victory in the regional elections at the end of that year.

At any other time, he could have been equally tempted by the PP, a force to which he is linked by an ideological affinity just as complete as to what has been his political house for nearly six years.. But the popular wear due to cases of corruption or the management of the Government of Mariano Rajoy during the sovereignist process decanted his choice towards a brand at that time fresher and more exciting and whose style book, established by Albert Rivera, was in tune with his verb sharp and uninhibited speech.

But that day has come to an end and Martín Blanco will appear as number one on the PP ballots that are distributed in the electoral colleges of the province of Barcelona in the general elections on July 23. With the same speed with which he articulates his messages, in less than a week he has gone from being the spokesman for Ciudadanos in the Catalan Parliament to leaving all his posts and party membership to link his fate to the project of Alberto Núñez Feijóo, where he does look at that future that he believes that the orange formation has let slip away, now yes, without remedy.

His position on the 23-J list assures him, de facto, a place in the Congress of Deputies. There lies, probably, another of the keys to a decision that has aroused criticism, and will continue to arouse it, among his former co-religionists. If the step he took in 2017, from the sets to the speakers' rostrum, represented an enormous personal fulfillment for a passionate politician like Martín Blanco, the Lower House was undoubtedly his next station.

The transition from the Catalan to the national legislative assembly seems to be cursed for the leaders of Ciudadanos. Catapulted from Parliament, Rivera and Inés Arrimadas ended up burning in Congress. The circumstances of Martín Blanco with the PP are totally different. He will do so, for now, in a subordinate position and with a possible novelty with respect to his speeches of all these years, since they may not require resisting whoever is in charge.

Economy, economy and economy. It is the playing field that Pedro Sánchez wants to delimit for the general elections on July 23. Confront with the PP on this matter, because the fear in La Moncloa is that, as happened on 28-M, the economy is not a central element of the political debate. The President of the Government contrasts the measures implemented these years and his team, led by Nadia Calviño, with, he understands, a leadership and team vacuum in the popular.

And faced with the “dilemma” of models that he poses in these elections, Sánchez sends a message: the “repeal of sanchismo” that the PP proclaims has economic consequences. Among them, according to the President of the Government, the “paralysis of the next disbursements of the Recovery Plan”, that is, of the European funds yet to be received.

The PSOE wants to debate with the PP, face to face between the two leaders and the economy. But in the face of the socialist rush, the popular ones show restraint. they play with time. Sanchez urges. He wants to “focus” this campaign on the economy, aware that 28-M did not succeed and failed. new attempt. “The only solution is transparency and, therefore, clarity. I want to denounce that in these preliminaries of the campaign there is someone who does not speak clearly. If something cannot be played with in such an uncertain context, it is the economy. It is essential that they clarify it as soon as possible”, he has urged the PP, on his economic proposal, in an intervention in the act of celebrating the 45th anniversary of the economic newspaper Cinco Días.

In the PSOE they know that in the municipal and regional elections against their “positive” campaign and of pedagogy and explanation of the measures implemented from the Council of Ministers, the PP message of “plebiscite” against Sánchez and “repeal of sanchismo” triumphed.. Sánchez knows it, the lesson is there. And his speech is already aimed at trying to deactivate the popular. To do this, he uses a clear warning: “repealing sanchismo” has economic consequences.

“The consequences would be serious because they entail a real budgetary risk. Some in their commitment to repeal and undo seem not to be aware. Something obvious must be remembered: these measures approved in this legislature are agreed with the European Commission, included in the country recommendation that Brussels made to Spain year after year, and eliminating them means violating the regulation of the recovery and resilience mechanism”, stated the President of the goverment.

Sánchez's warning has been clear, while seeking to neutralize Feijóo: “Failure to comply with commitments with Europe has clear consequences: sanctioning procedures, stoppage of next disbursements of the Recovery Plan. We are seeing it in other parts of Europe, where there are governments extraordinarily leaning to the right that are already suffering from this situation, that are paying a high toll on their reputations. I don't know what Feijóo will think of all this. I can imagine what Abascal thinks. I don't want Spain to look like those countries.”

That the PP, at least for the moment, avoid the economy ball, tense and annoying in the PSOE, knowing that a more propitious horizon than a few months ago is an element to be exploited in their favor. They want to force this confrontation of projects. “Their economic plans, if they have them, are not a secret that belongs to them. The Spaniards have the right to know about them and compare them with the policies that this government has implemented. Because we are at stake and they cannot continue to hide their intentions and hide his team”.

The death of a 40-year-old national police officer in Andújar due to an accidental shot by his partner when they were both mediating in a neighborhood fight has rescued a controversy that, despite its chronicity, has not yet been addressed by the Ministry of the Interior.

Since the events occurred last Sunday, a large sector of the National Police has questioned what is known as the National Shooting Plan, a manual on how and when agents should use their weapons.. The problem with this text is that it dates from the 1980s, from 1986, which is why many police officers find it “short” for two basic reasons: the change in the criminal scenario and the lack of adaptation mechanisms to the new realities.

That is to say, that they work with a method from 40 years ago at a time that has incorporated other elements such as, for example, the agents insist, the Latin gangs or the lone wolves.. In his opinion, the plan does not reflect the current reality and therefore does not prepare the troops to face it..

“The way in which criminals act has been modified. In the 80s, an agent was the authority and very few people dared to challenge them.. Now everything has changed”.

The majority union of the Police, Jupol, shares this position and also incorporates another “fundamental” element: the fear of the agents that if they use their weapons they will be legally unprotected.. “They don't know the consequences they are going to have”.

The general secretary of the group, Aarón Rivero, demands that the Government take immediate measures in this regard. “We are tired of not being respected and that the principle of authority is increasingly diminished, assuming one more advantage for criminals since their actions on the agents do not have a forceful conviction or sanction. As members of the State Security Forces and Bodies we feel defenseless and abandoned by the Administration».

They denounce an “old” protocol that pivots on “the lack of training in the handling of weapons”. They ensure that the shooting practices are “scarce” and that they do not provide enough practical knowledge.

According to the National Shooting Plan, in a confrontation it requires, contains, “a rapid capture of the threat, a clear evaluation, a quick decision and an immediate response”. The police collective understands that the insufficiency of practices “does not contribute to the agents having that response”.

From Jupol they urge to provide the plan with more practices and to “recreate situations as real as possible for the agents”. In addition, following the death of the agent by a random shot from his partner, they rescue their demand for the profession to be considered risky.

The Corps that have this distinction – Mossos d'Esquadra, Ertzaintza and regional police – are protected, says Jupol, “by bulletproof vests”, for example.

The event was recorded last Sunday in Andújar, when the couple of national police officers came to put order in a neighborhood fight. When the officer whose gun was fired saw the neighbor approaching him with a hammer and a knife, he reached for his service pistol, but hesitated to use it or pull out the extendable bumper..

He decided to do the second and, at that moment, the same sources indicate, he slipped, dropped his pistol and shot himself at the moment the attacker was on top of him and began to hit him..

The stray bullet hit his patrol partner, who was walking a few meters behind, and left him mortally wounded.. At first, it was thought that the agent was stabbed to death by a neighbor.

After the event, the man who started the fight and who attacked the policeman in the head and back left the scene with the hammer in hand and was killed by members of the Andújar Municipal Police, the same sources consulted report.

The third section of the Audiencia de Valencia has confirmed the decision of the Juzgado de Instrucción number 4 of Valencia to file for the general director of Linguistic Policy of the Generalitat Valenciana, Rubén Trenzano, the case opened by an alleged fraud of subsidies to the entrepreneur Francis Puig , brother of the president of the Council, Ximo Puig, and los Adell Bover.

This is clear from the resolution, consulted by Europa Press and against which there is no further appeal. With this order, dated June 12, the court dismisses the appeal filed by the PP against the decision of the investigating court that agreed to the free dismissal and the filing of the proceedings in relation to Trenzano.

The examiner agreed to the request of the defense of the director general (Compromís), who had requested the file of the proceedings, alleging that his client, who had not come to give a statement as an investigated during the investigation, had not carried out any criminal conduct. The PP appealed and the public prosecutor's office reported favorably on this appeal of the 'popular', while the affected party and the rest of those investigated opposed it.

This case began with the complaint of the PP for alleged crimes against public finances, prevarication and embezzlement against Francis Puig, executive director and CEO of Comunicació dels Ports SA. and administrator of Mas Mut Produccions and against Rubén Trenzano, who was attributed the lack of proof of compliance with the requirements for granting subsidies to Francis Puig. Later, the complaint against Enrique Juan Adell Bover as administrator of the company Canal Maestrat y Kriol Produccions was expanded.

In March 2022, Francis Puig's statement as investigated was agreed but not Rubén Trezano's, who has not come to testify in this case. The instructor, when filing, understood that continuing the investigation “having him as investigated would be as much as applying the bench penalty” and added that, in addition, the procedures carried out “did not provide sufficient evidence” that appearance as investigated.

FORMAL AND BACKGROUND REASONS

Now, the room indicates in the order that it definitively closes the case for Trenzano that it shares the decision of the instructor and, apart from the strictly formal arguments -the non-declaration-, it points to substantive reasons of “absolute absence of evidence of criminality” in the actions of the general director and in that the proceedings pending to be carried out aimed at determining whether there was subsidy fraud by those investigated or possible documentary falsification in the case of Francis Puig or the Adell Bovells, are crimes in which there would be no no participation.

In addition, remember that this is not the first time that the Investigating Court number 4 of Valencia has ruled on the matter because in June 2022 Trenzano's statement requested by the PP was denied, expressly stating that “of the results of the procedures carried out have not changed the circumstances for which his declaration has not been agreed”.

And that order became final since it was not appealed by any party, nor did it take advantage of any accusation to invoke possible indications of criminal responsibility or to what extent the result of the pending expert opinions could influence in this regard.

open war. Pablo Iglesias revolts against Yolanda Díaz to accuse her of having “given a victory to the mafia” in the media with the exclusion of Irene Montero from Sumar's electoral lists for the general elections of 23-J. The former secretary general of Podemos charges against her harshly and warns her of the consequences in votes that her “terrible mistake” will have for the candidacy.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Equality has been photographed this Monday with Ione Belarra at the headquarters of the purple party to defend that there is internal unity at this time “Juntas. Feministas”, and an emoji of a purple heart, both have written when sharing the photo identically on their Instagram profiles. With this message they are trying to silence rumors or possible criticism of the fact that Podemos agreed to “sacrifice” Montero in order to enter the coalition with Sumar.

For days Iglesias launched a crusade against Díaz for this issue from his different speakers, but this Monday has been one of the great attacks against her. A circumstance that makes visible how Podemos is torpedoing the newborn coalition, with the purple ones beating Sumar and preventing anything else from being talked about.

In an intervention in RAC1, Iglesias has warned Díaz that his decision not to have the Minister of Equality “will weigh on him” sooner or later because it is “injustice”. “It is logical that the right tries to throw you off your horse, but that your own colleagues say 'you don't', that sends a message that, beyond ethical issues, what it represents is a political error. If there is no minimum code of loyalty on the left, we are dead,” he reproached.

Iglesias has presented the “veto” as an attitude that attacks “decency”. Thus, he has claimed that this should be a hallmark of the left because “if we become professional politicians who assume cynicism and injustice as the key to functioning, it is very difficult for us to meet the objectives”, he has fired.

In this attack, Iglesias has affirmed that the decision is above all a gift to the “mafiosi” of the media in exchange for getting a kinder treatment from the press and not receiving “attacks from the right-wing media”. “That you respond to this action by the gangsters by saying 'you are right, the people you attack have to be outside, we are going to bet on profiles that are unassailable, as similar to the PSOE as possible'. I think it doesn't make any sense on a political level.”

The former general secretary of Podemos has stressed several times the consequences in votes that Díaz will find. As if many Podemos voters were not going to vote for Sumar. A threat, on the other hand, that disciplined profiles with the purple address have been feeding on social networks. “I think it is something that can do electoral damage to a political space that is essential so that the PP does not govern with Vox,” he pointed out.. “It's bad for the space's own expectations and that doesn't make sense, I hope they reflect.”

Díaz: “It is not very interesting”

From Luxembourg, where he has attended a council of employment ministers of the European Union, Díaz has avoided commenting on Montero despite repeated questions from journalists.. The vice president has shown her discomfort that this matter is overshadowing the launch of Sumar and preventing her from posting campaign messages about her political proposals.

Video: Atlas

“Spain was asking for a great agreement and we have done it for our country. I want to thank all the political formations for their generosity,” he said.. From here, Díaz has emphasized that Spain “what is waiting” is to hear Sumar talk about its “problems”.. “From now on we are going to provide solutions to our country. We have a program that we will present in the following days and we are going to continue improving the lives of the people”, he pointed out, to emphasize that these elections “are not about the past four years” but about those to come.

“There”, he has had an impact, “they will always find Sumar”. “What they want is that we give them solutions to their problems, the rest are not very interested,” said the leader of Sumar.

Podemos will not leave despite the “veto”

For its part, Podemos has stressed that it does not plan to abandon the coalition with Sumar despite the “veto” to Montero. However, he maintains the pulse so that Díaz, in whom they personify the decision to exclude her, “rectify” and accept her within the candidacy.

The purple spokesperson, Isa Serra, has pressed the time remaining to register the electoral lists (June 19 at the latest) to “fix this error” because, in addition, “it is a terrible message to society of a veto for the brave, to those who confront power and to those who, despite hate campaigns, have led our country to the forefront of feminist rights.”

Isa Serra asks Yolanda Díaz to “remove the veto of Irene Montero” / Video: Atlas

Podemos places this issue as a “fundamental” issue. “We respect the decisions of Yolanda Díaz when choosing the people for her list but we also ask for respect for Podemos. And in this sense, we ask that the veto of Irene Montero be withdrawn,” he insisted in a statement to the media in front of Congress.

As Iglesias raised, Serra has considered that there may be consequences in votes because a “political error” like this, the spokeswoman has warned, can “demobilize the electorate.”