Glossary · L
Lawfare
Anglicism for the use of the judicial apparatus as a tool of political combat against opponents. The left invokes it to denounce persecution of Sánchez, Iglesias or the procés; the right rejects it as a conspiracy thesis.
'Gag law' (Ley Mordaza)
Critical nickname for Organic Law 4/2015 on Citizen Security, passed by the PP. Critics denounce restrictions to the right of demonstration and freedom of information; the law has been the subject of repeated reform pledges.
'Only yes means yes' law
Organic Law 10/2022 on the comprehensive guarantee of sexual freedom, championed by Irene Montero. Its application produced more than a thousand sentence reductions for those convicted of sexual offences, prompting a later reform.
Trans law
Law 4/2023 for the real and effective equality of trans people. It allows free determination of gender from age 16 (with caveats for minors) without medical diagnosis; highly controversial inside and outside the left.
Organic leadership
A leader's ability to impose their criterion within their own party against the apparatus. The Sánchez-Susana Díaz dispute (2017) and Feijóo's consolidation in the PP (2022) are paradigmatic examples.
Lobby (interest group)
Organization that defends sectoral interests before political power and influences legislation. Spain has no mandatory state-level register of lobbyists, unlike the EU; an ongoing debate.
Los Pocholos
Journalistic nickname for the power group around Antonio Castillo Algarra (nicknamed 'Rasputin' or 'MAR'), cultural adviser to Isabel Díaz Ayuso, with presence in the Education and Culture Department and the PP parliamentary group of Madrid. Its sudden fall after the dismissal of councillor Emilio Viciana in February 2026 sparked the largest internal crisis of the Madrid government's legislature.