The PSOE of the Balearic Islands has criticised the Town Hall of Santa Margalida for hiring the comedian Joan Carles Bestard, who, in his character of Madò Pereta, made jokes about the President of the Government and his family during the patron saint festivities.
The PSOE of the Balearic Islands has attacked the Town Hall of Santa Margalida (governed by the PP and Convergència) for hiring the comedian Joan Carles Bestard, known for his character Madò Pereta, in the programme of the patron saint festivities. The reason: the jokes that the artist directed at the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and his family.
In a statement titled "With everyone's money to insult us", the socialists accuse the Town Hall of financing "with everyone's money" a show that, according to them, serves to "attack the PSOE, President Pedro Sánchez and his family". However, the note does not specify which particular joke or comment provoked the discontent.
The PSOE argues that mockery of the head of the central Executive cannot be considered art: "This is not humour; it is using the resources of all the neighbours to whitewash a discourse of insults and lies against the President of the Government". They demand public explanations and denounce that a "platform for partisanship" has been paid for.
Joan Carles Bestard, who is currently on a farewell tour, responded ironically to the criticisms. "If during the show I make fun of Mazón, Ayuso and her 'boyfriend', or of the damned Franco dictatorship... they say nothing. But it seems they must be special; what do they have, wax from the Corpus?" he declared.
The comedian, who has 25 years of experience making satire "100% critical of everything and everyone", claims to have never read "so much nonsense" as that expressed by the PSOE. According to Bestard, the jokes he uses are "kindergarten level" compared to what the national and international press publishes daily about the scandals surrounding the President's environment.
"These are the same jokes I told when Mariano Rajoy was in power, just changing the protagonist. Why? Because the archives help to keep creating," defends the artist, who emphasises that his show "does not tell any lies" and is based on journalistically documented facts.
Bestard also points fingers at the local leaders who have promoted the controversy, especially socialist councillors like Omar Lamin, whom he accuses of wanting to apply a "censoring roller" typical of dictatorships. "It turns out that now we cannot make humour about the political situation. Just like in dictatorships: I can, you cannot! They can talk about everything; the rest cannot," he asserts.
The actor also denounces that the PSOE applies ideological vetoes to cultural professionals in the Balearic Islands and even creates "blacklists of artists": "This one yes, this one no because they do not think or say what we like. We go after them and leave them without work (as they did with me for 8 years) to actors and comedians who are not one of ours".
Bestard absolves the Town Hall of Santa Margalida of all responsibility, as, according to him, they did not know the script in advance nor imposed any guidelines. The Town Hall, for its part, has not yet commented on the controversy.
The controversy comes in a context of growing political tension in the Balearic Islands, where the PSOE has repeatedly expressed its discomfort with criticisms directed at its leaders. Meanwhile, the Madò Pereta show continues its farewell tour across the Islands, receiving both applause and criticism.
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