From unimaginable to possible: Spain, Pinochet and the judicialization of power

‘Superjudge’ Balthasar Garzón is undoubtedly a phenomenon. In Spain he is popularly known as superjuez (Superjudge). He has pursued, amongst others, international drug traffickers, Arab gun-runners, money launderers, terrorists (ETA), state terrorists (GAL) under the former Socialist Government, and mass media monopolies (SOGECABLE and Silvio Berlusconi’s involvement in the Spanish media). This has polarized Spanish public opinion, with a majority supporting his audacity and courage and a minority regarding him as a publicity-obsessed hijacker of the law. Beyond Spain, especially since he sought the extradition of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet from Britain, he is seen almost exclusively as a superhero in the defence of human rights. Love him or loathe him, he has rapidly become Spain’s, and probably the world’s, best-known living judge. Is Garzón simply an anti-establishment champion of human rights? Not necessarily. While he exposed the unlawful state violence against ETA, his attacks on ETA and its support structure – closing a newspaper that acted as its mouthpiece, rounding up the entire leadership of its political wing, cutting off its sources of cash – have served Spain’s current centre-right government well, while problematizing, at least in Spain, his reputation as a defender of human rights. On the other hand, the case that made him an international name – the effort to bring Pinochet to justice – also gave Spain’s centre-right government a huge diplomatic headache. In short, Judge Garzón transcends easy labelling.