and cared for the homeless; protected
critical infrastructures; conducted cyber-defence
tasks, etc.
ALARM
On Saturday, March 14th, an extraordinary
Council of Ministers approved the
Royal Decree declaring a state of alarm
throughout the national territory for a
period of fifteen days. It was published in
the Official State Gazette (BOE) that night
and entered into force. Subsequently,
a Royal Decree of March 27th extended
the state of alarm until midnight on April
11th. This measure is provided for in the
Constitution to deal with emergency
situations and has only one precedent
in our democracy, that of the air traffic
controller crisis in 2010.
“For the purposes of the state of
alarm”, states the first Royal Decree,
“the competent authority shall be the
Government”. It adds that, under the
“senior management” of the
head of the Executive, four
competent authorities are
created, “in their respective
areas of responsibility”: the
Minister of Defence, Margarita
Robles; the Minister of the
Interior, Fernando Grande-
Marlaska; the Minister of
Transport, Mobility and Ur-
ban Agenda, José Luis
Ábalos; and the Minister of
Health, Salvador Illa. The
latter shall have authority in
those areas that do not fall
within the competence of
any of the aforementioned
authorities. This rank entitles
the competent authorities to
issue any orders, resolutions,
provisions and instructions which, in
the specific field of their activity, are
necessary to ensure health and safety.
Three days after the state of alarm was declared, King Felipe VI addressed
The Royal Decree specifies that the
delegated competent authorities may
request the action of the Armed Forces. It
also establishes that the military involved
in tasks within the framework of the
coronavirus crisis are agents of authority.
In the state of alarm, the movement of
citizens is restricted as much as possible;
on-site educational activity is suspended
at all levels, as is retail commercial
activity, except for the purchase of ba-
sic necessities and in other, singular,
cases. Also suspended are sports and
leisure activities; hotels and restaurants;
parades and popular festivals, etc., while
museums, archives, libraries, monuments,
etc., are closed.
THE CITIZENS TAKE CENTRE STAGE
The Prime Minister made a public
appearance on the night of Saturday,
March 14th, following an intense seven-hour
Council of Ministers —one of the
longest in the history of the democracy—
which decreed a state of alarm. In an
epic speech, with calls for serenity
and trust, Pedro Sánchez assured that
the Government’s determination was
“paramount: to protect the Spanish
people and beat the virus”. “People’s
health is at the centre of our priorities”, he
explained, “but at the same time we must
attend directly to our families, the workers,
the self-employed and businesses”.
the country to ask for “unity” and “solidarity”.
Sánchez clarified that the State Security
Forces and Corps and the regional and
local Police Forces are under the direct
orders of the Minister of the Interior, on
whom the intervention and assistance
services in civil protection emergencies
also depend. He also added that “at
all times and whenever necessary to
complete our task efficiently and comply
with measures, we will have the action of
the Armed Forces at our disposal. The
army is already prepared for this”. “To the
Armed Forces who join this task, already
on alert, thank you”, he stressed.
The Prime Minister called for unity
of action among all authorities. “There
are no political colours, no ideologies,
no territories,” he said. “Our citizens
come first”. He asked the latter for
“responsibility, social discipline and a
sense of community.” He tried to give
them hope, assuring them that the
emergency of the virus would pass. “And
then”, he said, “we will be able to return
to the streets and the terraces. We will go
back to the routine of our jobs and visit
our friends and loved ones again. We will
take our children to the park and prepare
for the next phase: social and economic
recovery and the return to normality”.
THE VIRUS THAT BROUGHT
A COUNTRY TO A STANDSTILL
It all happened so fast. Even in the
first week of March, the coronavirus
was something that was happening
somewhere else, far away, or to some
unlucky people. In Europe it
was Italy that was in shock
and the measures it took
were seen as alien, even
exaggerated. No one thought
the disease was going to
reach Spain. But just one
week later on Saturday 14th,
when the state of alarm was
declared, figures already
stood at 6,400 infections and
193 deaths.
There had been a huge
jump on the previous Monday
9th, when figures reached
1,200 infections, twice as
many as the day before. In
the evening, the autonomous
communities of Madrid and the
Basque Country announced
House of His Majesty the King
the closure of their primary and secondary
schools.
On Thursday 12th, following several
days’ growth in the number of cases, the
alarm was raised about the saturation of
hospitals in Madrid and other cities on
the virus front line, such as Vitoria. The
President of the Community of Madrid,
Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and the Mayor of
the capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeida,
for the first time in Spain, told people:
“Don’t go out, stay at home”. The
“Yomequedoencasa” label was already
circulating on social networks. That same
10 Revista Española de Defensa April 2020