The Asturian journalist and writer Gregorio Morán has died at the age of 78. Recognized for his analysis of recent Spanish history, he was the author of a biography of former president Adolfo Suárez and several books on the Transition. His work The Price of the Transition became a point of reference. For three decades, he published his Intempestive Sabbaths in La Vanguardia. His wake will be held in Barcelona.
The Transition as Source Code: Readability and Historical Debugging 🔍
Morán's work can be compared to the task of an engineer reviewing the source code of a complex program. His books do not limit themselves to narrating events; they examine the variables, hidden functions, and design decisions that shaped the current political system. Like a debugger, he pointed out lines of code with errors or compromises, documenting the compilation process of a democracy. His approach prioritized the readability of the process over the official narrative, offering a critical database to understand the architecture of the country.
Morán and the Art of the Intempestive Sabbath: The First 'Analog Blogger'? ✍️
In the era of Twitter threads and viral posts, Morán maintained a column for 30 years with a rhythm that today seems prehistoric: one per week. His Intempestive Sabbaths were the equivalent of a pure text blog, without algorithms, without likes, and above all, without the option to comment. One could get angry with what was read, but the response was to write a letter to the editor that probably wouldn't be published. It was a unidirectional communication model that, ironically, many miss today: opinion without background noise.