Pepe Juan is a survivor, there is no doubt about that. Having endured so many years there, at the foot of the canyon, in such a competitive and treacherous context, is rare and has a lot of merit. Others, apparently more capable, were left behind or had to withdraw from the front line. But not him. And he has been involved in all kinds of shady affairs, in the sights of internal and external enemies.
How has he achieved it? What is his secret? I think it's worth analyzing.
For me, the key to his success lies in an unusual combination that anyone who intends to make a career in a political party, be it the PSOE or another, must take into account: Loyalty to the party and the hierarchy, contained ambition and strategic alliances outside the organization.
Loyalty to the party and the hierarchy. Pepe Juan is a party man, even his enemies point to it as one of his greatest virtues. What does this consist of? Very easy, in measuring each of your words very well so that it never seems that you criticize colleagues or the organization. If you see something you don't like, you shut up; If someone does something you consider reprehensible, you shut up; If you hear that someone did something they shouldn't have, you bury it or save it for when you can use it for your benefit. It's a bit like the three monkeys: not seeing what you're not interested in seeing, not listening to what you're not interested in listening to, and not saying what you're not interested in saying. At most, you can express some disagreement in private or in internal meetings, but measuring very well against whom you position yourself. The truth or what is ethically correct is the least of it, what is relevant are the alliances, knowing how to choose who you want as a friend and accumulating as many allies as possible, even if that forces you to tell each one what they want to hear, lying or contradicting yourself.
Read Machiavelli, he explained how this worked. Although I honestly don't think Pepe Juan has studied it, these are things that come naturally to some when they see how the issue works, common sense... as long as you don't have too many moral scruples, of course, in that case you're screwed.
But this, while important, is not enough. Carlos Espino is also a party man, with scrupulous regard for the enumerated principles, but he did not go so far or withstand the onslaught of the front line. More is needed to last as long as a Pepe Juan.
Contained ambition. Pepe Juan knows his limits and knows how far he can go without straining the rope too much. He achieved much more than someone with his characteristics could have dreamed of, and he stayed there, without aspiring to much more, because he knew which wars he could win and which he could not. When a politician contains his ambition and is satisfied with what he has achieved, he does not need to take risks, he does not have to embark on uncertain struggles, he can swim and keep his clothes on, get along reasonably well with everyone, at all times.
But this is not enough either. Even more is needed.
Strategic alliances outside the party. It is no secret that Pepe Juan has always been one of the good guys in the Lanzarote tourism business community. His man in the political force that has governed Lanzarote for the longest time, being mayor for decades in the tourist municipality par excellence: Tías. Without those alliances, Pepe Juan would never have reached where he did, nor would he have stayed there. Through them he gained power, money and some media respect. It is also true that those friendships could have been his downfall, if he had not taken into account any of the two points listed above. If he had not been a party man or if he had not contained his ambition, he would have fallen out of favor long ago. But he did take all of this into account. And this rare combination is what, from my point of view, has allowed him to survive.
By Fernando Marcet