For two days, Spain's Congreso de los Diputados, (Congress of Deputies) opens its doors to the public.
The program started over 25 years ago as a way for the government to invite its citizens to be more engaged politically, especially after the secrecy under the decades-long Franco dictatorship.
As a political geek and a former U.S. House page, I was thrilled to be on another congressional/parliament floor.
I spent about five minutes, just looking. Awed by the beauty and history of the space.
In 1981, Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero, stormed this room, the Spanish Parliament, with about 200 armed guards. King Juan Carlos thwarted the attempted coup by denouncing it on television and imploring Spain to continue it's nascent democracy. Tejero, who died in Februrary 2026 almost 45 years after the anniversary of the attempted coup, and his top minions, were arrested and imprisoned for nearly 30 years.
The January 6 attackers on the U.S. Capitol were pardoned, and an attempt to create a $1.8B slushfund was recently thwarted. Like Greenland, this is not the last we have heard of it.
I saw Francina Armengol, the President of the Congress of Deputies. After the King, Prime Minister Sanchez, she is the third most powerful person in Spain. Her role is akin to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Speaker is third in line after the U.S. President and Vice President.
I took her picture. She stopped the conversation and asked if I wanted a picture taken with her. Flummoxed, I thought I had broken protocol and expected police to descend.
She smilied and asked again. I managed a "Si, muchisima gracias," (yes, thank you very much).
Even as an American, I could not conceive of touring the House floor on an "open day" let alone current Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (forget about political affiliation) asking me if I wanted a picture taken with him.
I am still having trouble lifting my jaw off the floor from what I just experienced. For decades I have gone to protests and heard the chant, "This is what Democracy looks like."
Actually, here in Spain is what Democracy looks like.