{
  "id": 4630409,
  "title": "Sánchez defiende a Zapatero y asegura que los expresidentes se dedican al ‘lobby’ “en la amplísima mayoría de democracias”",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/sanchez-defiende-a-zapatero-y-asegura-que-los-expresidentes-se",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-31T08:32:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "El Pais",
    "slug": "el-pais",
    "url": "https://elpais.com/espana/2026-08-31/sanchez-defiende-a-zapatero-y-asegura-que-los-expresidentes-se-dedican-al-lobby-en-la-amplisima-mayoria-de-democracias.html"
  },
  "original_language": "es",
  "account": "President Pedro Sánchez defended former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on Monday, stating that the former leader is being unfairly accused of influence peddling in connection to a 53 million euro loan for airline Plus Ultra. Sánchez emphasized that \"in the vast majority of democracies,\" ex-presidents engage in \"mediation, influence or lobbying actions.\" He stressed this is not just a Spanish issue but a global concern, affecting democracies worldwide. Sánchez added that Zapatero never intervened on behalf of the airline company in his personal capacity. The president also invoked his wife, Begoña Gómez, who is about to go on trial, his brother David Sánchez, who has already been convicted, and the PSOE party, which he claimed has not engaged in any irregular financial activities.",
  "summary": "El presidente asegura que Begoña Gómez y David Sánchez fueron investigados por ser “la esposa de” y “el hermano de”",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}