Somewhere / Anywhere

Percival Manglano is one of the most underrated operators in modern Spanish politics. As Minister of Economy and Finance for the Community of Madrid, he passed three budgets in a single year, cut spending into the teeth of the worst recession since the Civil War, and shepherded the libertad de horarios law - that ended state control over shop opening hours in Madrid and which no other Spanish region has yet dared to copy. Before that, he helped design Madrid's approach to immigration during the great wave of the early 2000s. After that, he served as a councilor in opposition to Manuela Carmena's communist administration, and later as a member of the Spanish Congress. We wanted to talk to him because the Madrid model is one of the most interesting natural experiments in contemporary European governance, and because Percival is one of the people who actually built it. Support the show

In this episode of Somewhere, Anywhere, we step outside the studio and into the home of one of Europe’s most important classical liberal thinkers: Pedro Schwartz. What follows is less an interview than a conversation across generations about freedom, institutions, and the intellectual life of modern Spain.Schwartz’s life traces the arc of European liberalism in the twentieth century. As a young Spaniard coming of age under Franco, he left a closed country and found himself at the London School of Economics, studying under Karl Popper and alongside some of the great figures of modern economic thought. Those formative years exposed him to a cosmopolitan intellectual environment that would shape his lifelong project: bringing the traditions of classical liberalism —Popper, Hayek, Friedman, Robbins — into Spanish intellectual and political life. Over the decades, Schwartz became not only a scholar but also a conduit of ideas. He translated, introduced, and debated liberal thought in Spain when it was still intellectually marginal. His influence extends through generations of economists, journalists, and policymakers, many of whom first encountered liberal ideas through his seminars, essays, and public interventions. The conversation moves fluidly between intellectual history and lived politics. Schwartz reflects on the intellectual atmosphere of the LSE in the 1960s, the role of the School of Salamanca in Spain’s liberal tradition, and his encounters with figures such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. At the same time, we revisit decisive moments in modern Spanish history: the democratic transition, the 1981 coup attempt, Spain’s entry into NATO and the European project, and the reformist wave of the 1990s. Schwartz also speaks candidly about his own brief experience in politics —founding a liberal party, serving in parliament, and influencing the policy debates that helped shape Spain’s market reforms. Yet he ultimately returns to the role he values most: that of the public intellectual who helps societies clarify their principles.Throughout the episode, one theme recurs: liberalism is not simply a set of policy preferences but a civilizational inheritance. It requires institutions, intellectual seriousness, and a broad cultural horizon — one that ranges from economic theory to philosophy, history, and literature.At 91 years old, Pedro Schwartz remains engaged in that project. This conversation is both a reflection on a remarkable intellectual life and a meditation on the enduring challenges of defending freedom in democratic societies.Support the show

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Madrid didn’t become “Madrid” by accident. The late nights, the density, the sense that the city is competing for talent rather than managing decline. In this episode, Diego and I sit down with Esperanza Aguirre, former President of the Community of Madrid, and treat her not as a personality but as a case study: what happens when a politician is a seriousdefender of classical liberalism and then gets enough power to try implementing it.Aguirre’s liberalism isn’t a retrospective brand. She traces it to a specific intellectual and institutional pipeline: the Liberal Club of Madrid under Pedro Schwartz, weekly immersion in The Economist when it was more explicitly liberal, and Hayek’s argument about the Industrial Revolution’s brutal optics but longer-run moral arithmetic. She even gives a wonderfully concrete “de-programming” moment: a 1979 trip where seeing telecom competition in the U.S. made the “natural monopoly” story feel less like economics and more like Spanish administrative instinct.From there, Madrid becomes the application layer. Her version of liberalism is not just lower taxes, but choice plus speed. Choice in schooling and in health care, where she describes making it normal to pick schools, hospitals, doctors, and specialists, and bluntly frames the political resistance as a preference for “captive clients.” Speed in how a city allows people to build and open: she explains the pivot from slow, permission-first licensing to declaración responsable, an ex post enforcement model that lets small businesses start operating without waiting a year or two for a stamp. Layer in the other pieces: hospitals built quickly by giving land and contracting private construction and sometimes operation, with reversion later; an aggressive metro expansion; and finally liberalized opening hours and Sundays, turning Madrid into the “always open” city tourists now take for granted.If you think “classical liberalism” is too abstract for real politics, Aguirre makes it concrete: it’s a set of institutional defaults about who gets to decide, how fast they’re allowed to act, and whether the public sector can be made to behave as if citizens are customers rather than assignments.Support the show

In this wide-ranging conversation, Tyler Cowen joins Rasheed and Diego to examine Latin America's structural challenges, cultural strengths, and economic future.Why do some countries remain trapped in political psychodrama while others quietly stabilize? Can El Salvador become a long-term success story? Why does Argentina produce both world-class literature and chronic fiscal crises? Is Panama the region’s most underrated model? And is the United States slowly becoming a Latin American country in cultural terms?The discussion moves from nation-building and dollarization to the School of Salamanca, from Madrid’s renaissance to Lima’s culinary dominance, and from Borges to Bukele. Throughout, Cowen returns to a central theme: growth is a moral imperative but drama often gets in the way.This is a conversation about stability versus spectacle, culture versus institutions, and what it would take for Latin America to finally become “boring” — in the best possible sense.Support the show

In this episode of Somewhere/Anywhere, Rasheed and Diego engage in a wide-ranging debate on the political economy of Europe, the structure of the European Union, and the persistent confusion about where authority, responsibility, and failure truly lie.The conversation opens by distinguishing Europe as a historical and cultural space from the European Union as a legal-institutional project. From there, the hosts examine the EU’s long-standing attempt to construct a shared political identity and question whether identity can be engineered from above without eroding legitimacy. This sets the tone for a deeper institutional argument: whether the EU’s problems stem from technocratic overreach in Brussels or from weak, incoherent national politics exported upward into European institutions.A major section of the episode focuses on regulation and growth. Rasheed and Diego debate the EU’s recent regulatory trajectory—particularly environmental and industrial policy—arguing that agenda-setting by the European Commission has anchored policy debates in ways that have harmed European manufacturing, especially in the automotive sector. The discussion touches on the Green Deal, shifting emissions targets, regulatory uncertainty, and the long-term consequences for German and Spanish industry.The episode then turns to democratic legitimacy and governance. The hosts analyze the EU’s power-sharing model between center-right and social-democratic blocs, arguing that permanent consensus has diluted accountability, blurred political responsibility, and contributed to voter alienation. This dynamic is linked directly to the rise of euroskeptic and radical parties across the continent, as well as to the strategic stagnation of mainstream parties.Southern Europe plays a central role in the analysis. Spain and Italy are presented as underutilized power centers within the EU—countries with sufficient population and voting weight to shape outcomes under qualified majority voting, yet consistently unwilling to use that leverage. Past leadership moments are contrasted with current passivity, and the failure of Spain in particular to project influence at the European level is treated as a self-inflicted wound rather than a Brussels conspiracy.A substantial portion of the episode revisits the euro and the eurozone crisis. The hosts discuss the Maastricht rules, the breakdown of fiscal discipline, repeated violations without enforcement, and the political logic behind bailouts. Greece is examined as a case study in how rule-breaking, delayed adjustment, and institutional hesitation damaged the credibility of the integration project while deepening north-south tensions.Attention then shifts to what Europe has not done: unfinished integration projects with high economic returns and low political cost. These include the failure to complete the single market in services, the absence of a true capital markets and banking union, the still-fragmented European airspace, underdeveloped defense coordination, weak external border management, and chronic underinvestment in Frontex. In contrast, the episode highlights programs like Erasmus as examples of low-cost initiatives with outsized long-term political and social impact.The role of bureaucracy is addressed directly. The episode challenges the idea of a neutral, technocratic EU administration, emphasizing how national loyalties, party alignment, and political incentives shape decision-making within European institutions. Courts are treated as one of the few remaining stabilizing forces capable of enforcing treaty limits and institutional boundaries.Rather than offering a manifesto or a clean resolution, this episode leaves listeners with a clearer map of Europe’s contradictions—and a sharper sense of where responsibility actually liSupport the show

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Why has Bullfighting survived the modernization of Madrid? It is usually encountered at a distance through stereotypes, political arguments, or half-remembered images. In this episode, Rasheed and Diego talk through the experience at ground level, using Rasheed’s first visit to a bullfight in Madrid as a way to slow the subject down and look at it carefully, step by step.The conversation doesn’t aim to persuade or provoke. Instead, it reconstructs what actually happens inside the bullring: how the event is structured, how the crowd behaves, why certain moments carry more weight than others, and what becomes visible once attention shifts from moral conclusions to observation. Diego supplies context and continuity; Rasheed brings the perspective of someone encountering the ritual for the first time and trying to make sense of it in real time. The most revealing moment was not the kill, but the collective silence before it.Things MentionedArt, Film, & MediaAfternoons of Solitude (documentary by Albert Serra)La Suerte (series on Disney+)OneToro TV (the "Netflix of bullfighting")Paintings by Goya, Velázquez, and Picasso depicting the corridaPeople & MatadorsMorante de la Puebla (retired, "the Pope of bullfighting")Andrés Roca Rey (current Peruvian star)Olga Casado (rising female bullfighter)Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez (and the Rivera dynasty)Esperanza Aguirre (Former President of the Community of Madrid)Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo (politician and historian)Julian Pitt-Rivers (anthropologist on the symbolism of the bullfight)Places & EventsLas Ventas (Madrid bullring)The Feria de Abril (Seville)Pamplona (Running of the Bulls)Nîmes and Arles (Bullfighting in French Roman amphitheaters)Key SegmentsThe Economics of Ticket Pricing. Diego explains his role in advocating for the liberalization of ticket prices in Madrid. How removing price caps—originally intended to keep culture "accessible"—actually increased revenue, allowed operators to hire top talent, and led to record attendance figures. A case study in how price signals preserve cultural heritage.The Production Function of the Bull The supply chain of the toro bravo. Why cloning is technically possible but artistically undesirable, and how breeders use data to select for "nobility" and aggression.The "Silence" and the Kill The game theory of the crowd: how 24,000 people coordinate near-perfect silence during the tercio de muerte. The distinction between a "flashy" performance and a "technical" one, and the brutal binary outcome of the sword.The Matador as Counter-Culture Why the tradition is surviving socialism in Venezuela and thriving in France and Peru. The shift of the matador from a folk hero to a modern pop-culture icon among Spanish Gen Z.Support the show

When Mario Vargas Llosa died in Lima on 13 April 2025, the Hispanic world lost its most articulate apostle of classical liberalism. This episode dissects not the novels — brilliant though they are — but the ideas that powered them. We trace his migration from early Fidelista enthusiasm to a creed rooted in Popperian fallibilism, Hayekian humility and Tocquevillian suspicion of centralised power. The argument that binds his essays, speeches and presidential programme is simple: individual liberty, secured by robust institutions and an open economy, is civilisation’s most perishable asset.  📌  What we examine• The formative break with utopiaAfter the Padilla affair in Havana and Prague’s crackdown, Vargas Llosa declared the revolutionary dream bankrupt and began reading Hayek and Popper “as antidotes to romantic illusions”. Their stress on dispersed knowledge and pluralism became the spine of his later polemics.  • Seven tutors of freedomLa llamada de la tribu (2018) surveys seven liberal thinkers—from Adam Smith to Isaiah Berlin—whom he credits with curing Latin America of its “authoritarian nostalgia”. We tease out the book’s central lesson: prosperity is impossible without open debate and secure property rights.  • The 1990 Peruvian wagerRunning for president under the FREDEMO coalition, Vargas Llosa offered shock liberalisation, independence for the central bank and titles for shanty-town dwellers—policies Peru adopted, piecemeal, even after he lost to Alberto Fujimori. The campaign proved that a manifesto can quote The Wealth of Nations and still fill football stadia.  • Spain’s accidental tribuneNaturalised in 1993, he used his Nobel-honed baritone to defend Spanish constitutional unity during Catalonia’s rupture in 2017, warning that “identity politics is the anteroom of authoritarianism”. His address on Barcelona’s Paseo de Gràcia remains a textbook example of civic, rather than ethnic, patriotism.  • Liberalism in the age of populistsThrough columns and the Fundación Internacional para la Libertad, Vargas Llosa lambasted caudillos of left and right—Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, Jair Bolsonaro—arguing that populism’s true antagonist is the rule of law, not any single ideology.• Literature as reconnaissanceThe novels—Conversation in the Cathedral, The Feast of the Goat—serve as case-studies in power’s corruptions, dramatising the very abuses his essays diagnose. Fiction, for him, is the laboratory where liberalism runs its stress-tests.📚  Suggested reading for listenersLa llamada de la tribu (2018) – intellectual autobiography of a liberal convert.El pez en el agua (1993) – memoir of the 1990 campaign.Sables y utopías (2009) – 20 years of essays against authoritarianism.Speeches from the 2017 Barcelona rally and the 2010 Nobel lecture (links in show notes).🔥 Follow the co-hosts on XDiego: @diegolacruzRasheed: @rasheedguoSupport the show

🚨 In this Episode: Ecuador is one of the rare Latin-American economies that has zero price-tag chaos — and that’s thanks to its quarter-century embrace of the U.S. dollar. In 1999 the sucre collapsed, inflation hit 37 percent a year and banks went belly-up; twelve months later dollarization tamed prices and — even today — remains supported by roughly eight in ten Ecuadorians.But political calm never followed monetary calm. We track the arc from Rafael Correa’s left-populist decade, which expanded the state while muzzling the press yet never dared scrap the dollar, through Lenín Moreno’s surprise liberal pivot and Guillermo Lasso’s failed reform push that ended in a “muerte cruzada”.Now 37-year-old President Daniel Noboa confronts the region’s fastest-rising murder rate — 40-plus per 100 000 inhabitants — while promising to keep the hard-currency anchor, court investors and wrest back prisons from narco-gangs. Can Ecuador re-build institutions before violence, blackouts and populist nostalgia upend the gains of dollarization?Press play for a data-rich journey through Ecuador’s economic miracle and democratic growing pains.Don't forget to like, SUBSCRIBE, and share your thoughts in the comments - What do you think Noboa should do first?🔥 Follow the co-hosts on XDiego: @diegodelacruzRasheed: @rasheedguoSupport the show

🚨 This podcast episode is a celebration of Liberalism and Cosmopolitanism: a real-world demonstration that open markets and open minds can deliver prosperity. 🔑 In 1990 less than 1% of the Spanish population were foreign residents.The foreign-born population was even smaller, with immigrants accounting for about 0.5% of residents As of January 1, 2025: 14% of residents in Spain are foreign nationals.18.2% of Spain’s population was born outside the country.1 in 7 residents of Madrid were born in Latin America. Spain flipped from near-zero immigration in 1990 to Europe’s most dynamic melting-pot today. We unpack how free-market reforms, EU membership and Spain’s famously liberal social scene turned the country into a magnet for Latin-American talent — reshaping Madrid and offering a hopeful fix for Europe’s aging crisis.Don't forget to like, SUBSCRIBE, and share your thoughts in the comments - What do you think other European countries can learn from Spain?🔥 Follow the co-hosts on XDiego: @diegodelacruzRasheed: @rasheedguo🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to stay informed.Support the show

Bolivia was once celebrated as South America's economic success story—rich in natural gas, flush with exports, and rapidly reducing poverty. Today, it's spiraling into crisis: crippling fuel shortages, disappearing reserves, soaring debt, and political chaos threaten total collapse. In this no-holds-barred breakdown, we expose:The Gas Boom Turned Bust: How did Bolivia lose half its gas production and become trapped importing fuel it can't afford? Fiscal Catastrophe: Public debt skyrocketing from 38% to 85% of GDP, reckless subsidies, and deficits spiraling out of control—what went wrong? Currency Collapse: Foreign reserves plummeting from $15 billion to almost nothing, a runaway black market for dollars, and a failed currency peg—is Bolivia already past the tipping point? Political Meltdown: How internal political warfare, institutional rot, and governmental dysfunction have deepened economic distress. The Lithium Illusion: Could lithium reserves save Bolivia, or is it yet another mirage of false hope?Join Diego and Rasheed as they critically dissect Bolivia’s silent but severe economic disaster, exposing the dangerous realities facing the country and the grim outcomes if drastic measures aren't taken.Don't forget to like, SUBSCRIBE, and share your thoughts in the comments - What do you think it would take for Bolivia to recover?  Follow the co-hosts on XDiego: @diegolacruzRasheed: @rasheedguo Listen now wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to stay informed.Support the show

🚨 The Economic Boom Propaganda has to END 🚨  Ever heard about the "economic rocket" the Spanish government is bragging about? It is a hoax. Instead of soaring upward, Spain is spiraling into debt, joblessness, and misery— faster than ever! Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sánchez keeps tightening his grip, silencing judges and the press. Did you realize Spain now leads Europe's misery index BY A MILE? We're at 14.4 points, while the EU average is just 8.8. And that's WITH their statistical games! If we cut through their lies (like the infamous "fijos discontinuos" trick), the real misery number is nearly 19.5 points. 💥🚀📉They're inflating GDP retroactively just to fake growth, but here's the harsh truth: our GDP per capita is still stuck at the bottom. Debt is SKY-HIGH , taxes are choking families, and foreign investment is running away. Employment hasn't moved since 2019, and wages are flatlining. So what's really improved? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!They claim our "tax burden" is down—but that's PURE PROPAGANDA. By pumping up nominal GDP numbers, they pretend we're paying fewer taxes, while secretly picking our pockets deeper every day. And guess what? They're coming back for MORE taxes that hit the middle class the hardest.  In this video, we're blowing their lies wide open:  ✅ How they're cooking the unemployment stats  ✅ Why Spain’s "GDP growth" is fake news  ✅ The tax hike that's destroying the middle classDon't forget to like, SUBSCRIBE, and share your thoughts in the comments — do you think we are too harsh against Sánchez’s claims of an ongoing economic boom?🔥Follow the co-hosts on XDiego: @diegolacruzRasheed: @rasheedguo🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to stay informed.Support the show

🔴 Is Javier Milei a genuine libertarian, or is he drifting dangerously close to populist conservatism? In this episode, we dive deep into the ideology of Argentina's self-identified anarcho-capitalist President, Javier Milei, unpacking the critical differences between true modern liberalism (for our European audience) and authentic libertarianism (for those tuning in from the USA).We critically examine Milei's recent ideological shifts and explain why his heavy focus on culture war topics might ultimately undermine his libertarian principles and political effectiveness. From his increasing alignment with traditionalist thinkers like Agustin Laje to his concerning ties with conservative populist groups such as Spain's Vox party, we dissect why these alliances may betray core libertarian ideals.Join us for a nuanced discussion that clarifies the foundations of libertarian thought, highlights where Milei deviates, and explores why history repeatedly shows that blending libertarianism with cultural conservatism tends to backfire. Whether you're a supporter, a skeptic, or simply curious, this episode will provide insights that encourage thoughtful reflection on what libertarianism truly represents.Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share your thoughts in the comments — do you think Milei can still claim the libertarian label?Follow the co-hosts on XDiego: @diegolacruzRasheed: @rasheedguo🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to stay informed.Support the show

What's really happening in Argentina under President Javier Milei? In this episode, we take a deep dive into the controversial "Chainsaw Reforms" introduced by President Milei, a radical set of policies aimed at drastically reshaping Argentina’s economy; under an anarcho-capitalist framework. We will defend - in great detail - the view  that these measures are the real solution Argentina needs.We explore the complex political legacy beginning with Carlos Menem’s liberal reforms, continuing through the chaotic economic mismanagement of Cristina Kirchner’s administrations, which left the country economically fragile. Additionally, we discuss the disappointing failure of Mauricio Macri’s government to deliver meaningful structural change, despite early optimism.Interestingly, Milei has recruited key figures from Macri’s economic team. Does this mean Argentina risks repeating past mistakes, or can Milei's radical libertarian approach finally deliver sustainable growth by implementing the so-called Chainsaw 2.0 Reforms?Key Discussion Points:Legacy of Carlos Menem’s neoliberal reformsEconomic chaos under Cristina KirchnerMauricio Macri's missed opportunity for structural reformMilei's "Chainsaw Reforms"The impact of Macri-era economists in Milei’s teamFuture scenarios: prosperity or increased economic peril?Tune in for a critical and detailed analysis of Milei's Argentina.Follow the co-hosts on XDiego: @diegolacruzRasheed: @rasheedguoListen and subscribe to stay informed.Support the show

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Capitalismo Podcast, a new series dedicated to exploring the political economy of the Hispanic world entirely in English.In this first episode, co-hosts Diego Sánchez de la Cruz and Rasheed Griffith examine Spain’s landmark transition from the Franco dictatorship (1939–1975) to a modern constitutional democracy. Referred to as La Transición in Spain, this period remains a cornerstone of European political history and continues to influence Spain’s contemporary governance structures and debates over monarchy versus republicanism, as well as regional autonomy.Key Topics Covered:Historical Context: Understanding Franco’s authoritarian regime and why its collapse left a complex legacy.Power Vacuum and Reform: The political uncertainty following Franco’s death, and tensions between hardliners and reformists.King Juan Carlos I’s Unexpected Role: How Franco’s chosen successor became an unexpected advocate for democracy, guiding early reforms and symbolically uniting divided factions.Adolfo Suárez & Torcuato Fernández-Miranda: The critical roles played by these political leaders in dismantling Francoist structures, legalizing opposition parties, and steering Spain toward democratic elections.1978 Constitution: Examining the creation and approval of Spain’s foundational democratic document, including its establishment of a constitutional monarchy and autonomous communities.Contemporary Relevance: How the legacy of La Transición continues to influence present-day debates on monarchy vs. republicanism, regional autonomy, and governance in Spain.Follow the co-hosts on XDiego: @diegolacruzRasheed: @rasheedguoSubscribe now on YouTube and all podcast audio players for policy-oriented deep dives into the economic, political, and historical dynamics of the Hispanosphere — in English.Support the show